


When Hothead Meets Blockhead

by AnaFrost



Category: Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern: Still Have Powers, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Romance, Awkwardness, Crack, Crack Crossover, Crack Relationships, Crack Treated Seriously, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Didn't Know They Were Dating, Domestic Fluff, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Family Dynamics, First Love, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Horny Teenagers, Humor, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Living Together, Long-Term Relationship(s), Love at First Sight, Love/Hate, OTP Feels, One Big Happy Family, One True Pairing, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Friendship, Roommates, Sexual Tension, Shipping, Slice of Life, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, So Married, Teenagers, True Love, Tsunderes, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Waiting, Work In Progress, Workplace Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-24
Updated: 2016-07-21
Packaged: 2018-01-09 20:23:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 44,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1150414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnaFrost/pseuds/AnaFrost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Goten turns 18, it's time for him to move out and start living his life on his own. And when things go wrong, Goten is forced to get a job and find a new place to stay. Namely, the Hikawa Shrine, where his problems immediately switch from bad to worse when he meets Rei! What happens when these two meet? Will they get along? Read and find out!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Rough Start

**AN: Hi, everybody. I'm back with a new story! Cool, huh? Ok, lately this pairing has been sticking on me more than ever. I just wanted to write this to ventilate my ideas. I still adore Trunks and Usagi, and they will always be my favorite! But now, I think something new won't hurt…Okay, on with the first chapter!**

**Chapter 1: A Rough Start**

"Crap," Son Goten muttered. "I'm running out of cash. What more can go wrong?!" He cursed under his breath.

Goten was 18 years of age. He had black, spiky hair that shot out in all directions. His matching black eyes glared down at his soon to be empty wallet. He sat down in front of a campfire in the middle of the woods and sighed.

Three months ago, he had moved out of his parents' house to start living life on his own. Problem was, he couldn't hold a job for more than a week and didn't make enough money to pay rent everywhere he resided. How come? Well…Goten was the type of guy that got sidetracked easily, especially around girls. The last place he had worked had to close down because of a flood that  _ **he**_  caused by spending more time flirting with the female customers than washing the dishes.

Now, with no job, a place to live, and little money, there was no way he could continue living by himself. He even went over to Capsule Corp and asked if he could temporarily stay there, but Vegeta was completely against it. He should have thought about that before replacing Vegeta's shampoo with pink hair dye. Goten ran his hand through his shaggy mane and continued to mope.

"I can't just go back to mom and dad's, that'd be embarrassing. Not only that, but I would have to live with all of mom's rules all over again!" He let out a growl of frustration. Chi-Chi had always been an overbearing and overprotective mother, but her actions had a tendency to stifle his social life. Goten wanted to prove to her that he was grown up and finally ready to take care of himself, without her having to hover all the time.

So far he wasn't doing too well on that, since it was his third day living in the forest and all... he was thankful that he had at least grown up surrounded by nature. He managed by sleeping in treetops, eating fruit, and bathing in the river. Still, it wasn't enough. As convenient as it was, he didn't belong there.

The young half-saiyan stood back up with a determined look on his face. "All right!" he started. "I'm not giving up. I'm going back to the city to get myself a job-!" However, his growling stomach loudly interrupted his noble declaration. "…Tomorrow!"

'You can't go looking for work on an empty stomach.' He thought before making his merry way towards the river to catch some lunch.

* * *

"Wow, this place is gorgeous!" Usagi exclaimed in awe.

The girls were on the last few days of their vacation before starting their senior year of high school, so Ami had suggested that they go swimming together. Makoto then recommended a forest up in the mountain district that she had visited once while on a training expedition. She claimed to have only been there once but she had been fond of the place ever since. They stood on the grass patch, free of trees, watching the river flow.

"Yeah, you were right, Mako-chan! This is the perfect place for a swim." Minako grinned cheerfully.

They set up blankets on the ground to assemble their lunches and snacks. Usagi and Minako were the first to dig in, savoring Makoto's homemade meals. Ami took out a sandwich to eat while cracking open a text book. The other girls frowned; leave it to Ami to study on vacation…

Rei slipped off her sundress and matching sandals, now wearing only her bikini.

Makoto stared at her inquisitively. "You're not going to eat?"

Rei simply shook her head. "Nah, I'd rather swim first." She didn't want to eat, and then swim, only to get hungry again. "Save some sandwiches for me." She waved back at them as she ran towards the river.

"Okay," Makoto called out before Rei dove in the water. She relished the cold temperature of the water; this was just what she needed after enduring the long hike under the scorching sun to get there.

Her vacation so far was less than what she had hoped for. Grandpa had gotten sick and it was up to Rei to manage the temple all by herself. It was both exhausting and time consuming. Her schedule would consist of: wake up at dawn, sweep at the entrance, run to the pharmacy, give Grandpa his medications, mind the charm stand, cook, and then spend the night cleaning the entire temple. She hardly had time for herself or her friends. She even stressed over the possibility that this would continue even when she went back to school. She shuddered at the thought; her grades would slip dramatically, no doubt. If she didn't have time for herself how in blazes could she make time to study?

She continued to swim forward, letting the current sweep her away. She needed some time to herself to reflect and gather her thoughts. Listening to the girls chat would be a distraction at the moment. She backstroked along the stream, looking up at the sky and tall trees. She looked to the side, staring deep into the woods, glancing in wonder at all the plant and animal life. She felt something in her mind click for an instance but didn't know what it was. She ignored it and continued swimming.

" _ **Promise..?"**_

"Hello?" She looked around, thinking she was hearing voices. "Where did that come from?" She asked herself, puzzled.

After her violet eyes searched the forest, she didn't see anybody around and shuddered. She shook the thought away for her own well-being.

"Now's not the time to act crazy!" She scolded herself. "Oh, great…I'm talking to myself. Perfect." She sighed bitterly and submerged herself back in the water, swimming onward.

She came up for air and took a deep breath to submerge herself once more. She looked around at all the fish swimming by and smiled. She felt pretty envious of them; they probably didn't have a care in the world.

Her gaze focused ahead and she noticed enormous tree roots digging into the dirt and looping under the water as if forming a cave. She decided to swim through it since she could see an opening big enough for her to squeeze through. She slid her head and arms through easily but suddenly came to a halt at her torso area. She tried to her hardest to push herself forward but was caught by her bikini top. Her body began to writhe, attempting to wiggle loose. It proved to be a bad idea as unfriendly branches dug into her skin. The shrine maiden clenched her teeth in pain, feeling a couple prod her deep enough to break skin. Tiny bubbles began to escape her nostrils, remnants of the precious oxygen she had left. Her mind began to race in panic. She had to get free!

Her hands reached up to the strings of her bikini and tugged as hard as she could while kicking her feet frantically from the other side. Her eyes shut tight as she felt the twigs prodding her once more; she felt her body inch forward yet was caught again, this time by her hair. Rei began to flail her limbs desperately as she felt her chest tighten and her ears hurting. If she didn't get out, the possibility of her drowning was imminent. Her heart was racing as the thought plagued her mind. Out of nowhere a monstrous sized fish came into view and was hurling towards her. A mass of bright blue and silver scales parted to reveal a collection of dangerously sharp teeth in its mouth.

A scream escaped her lips in the form of large bubbles, the last bit of air she had left to rely on. Suddenly the fish was pulled back against its will, its body thrashed upon the rock beneath it. Rei reached her arms out in a final attempt to get herself free but her vision began to give out on her and the exhaustion was closing in. She could only make out a dark figure of a human before going black. Her mind slipped through the cracks of unconsciousness as water began to enter her respiratory system.

Goten had thrashed the fish until it was less resistant before his senses zoned in on a human ki, a fading one. He looked around and to his surprise he was correct. His eyes fell upon a mass of long black hair brushing against pale slender arms.

'Is that a girl?! What is she doing all the way out here?' He thought as he let his meal slip past his fingers and hurriedly kicked towards the limp figure.

He tried to pull her out but realized she was wedged deep in between the roots. He saw blood begin to rise from the fresh cuts on her arms and ribcage. Definitely wasn't a wise idea to pull her; he then decided to punch at the roots and they snapped like Popsicle sticks under the force of his fists. Once the grip on the girl slacked he untangled her hair and top strings from the branches and shot up to the surface with her in his arms.

His feet touched the dry surface and he laid her down flat as Gohan instructed him when teaching him CPR. He pushed away the wet locks that concealed her face and nearly stopped in his tracks. She was beautiful! At least compared to all the other girls he'd seen. He then remembered the crisis at hand and pinched her nostrils closed and locked lips with hers to flow hair back into her body. He pulled away to take a deep breath before going back down to blow it back into her. He pulled away once more to press his hands against the center of her chest and pump to help induce the flow. He repeated the routine persistently, determined to breathe life back into her.

"Come on, don't you give out on me. I don't even know your name!" He pleaded.

" _ **I'll come back."**_

_**"Promise..?"** _

" _ **I promise."**_

The raven haired woman coughed up water and gasped breaths of fresh air. Her back arched with each breath as her body temporarily convulsed. He pulled away in relief.

"Thank goodness. I almost thought you were a goner," he said with a reassuring smile.

Rei's vision was foggy from all the water as it was fixed upon what was possibly the same silhouette she'd seen underwater. Her eyelids fluttered open and closed in order to restore the blurry image of her rescuer. Rei moved her arms as if to prop herself to sit up, yet a strong hand lightly pressed down her shoulder.

"Easy there. Don't try and sit up yet. You might get woozy," a soothing voice graced her ears.

She blinked as she was now able to make out the young man's face. A collection of soaked messy locks of black hair framed a wholesome yet roughly masculine face decorated by thick eyebrows and dark colored eyes to match his tresses. She was quite fixated on his eyes once she caught sight of them. There was something about them, something warm, kind. She couldn't help but feel reminded of something, possibly something she'd felt a long time ago.

Goten brushed his bangs out of the way to get a better view of her and gulped. Her eyes were just as pretty as her face. He couldn't help but get nervous with the way they intently stared at him. Was he funny looking to her? Did she find him ugly? Was Trunks right about his haircut being awful? The fact that she hadn't said anything yet was making him all the more uncomfortable. Just what were the odds? A gorgeous woman like her out here in the smack dab middle of nowhere. He wasn't sure if this was pure luck or if the heavens were taunting him. After all, there she was in a bikini like she had come out of a swimsuit magazine. A blush crept up on his cheeks as he tried his hardest to keep eye contact. He was now becoming desperate for her to say something.

"U-Um…" he stuttered, having nothing to say.

Rei got a better look at him and her cheeks reddened to match his when she realized he was in nothing but his boxers. He was so well-built, his arms decorated with rippling muscles. Her head got fuzzy with having his warm body hover over hers, supported by his striking arms. Her ears then processed that he had spoken once more.

"Ah, I mean, are you okay?" He cleared his throat.

He hoped he wasn't embarrassing himself by being so inarticulate. She blinked and was pulled back into reality, grasping the probability that she had been laying there for more than just a couple of minutes.

"Ah. I-! Thank you..." she finally spoke up.

Goten's heart began to quicken its pace as her voice reached his ears; it was like music to him. This girl was the total package. He then slowly moved back as he saw her try to sit up once more.

"Y-You're welcome!" He said and gave her a big smile.

She raised her hand up to push her hair back and the loose bikini strings around her neck then slid off from the shift in gravity. Time then slowed down as Goten's eyes widened while unintentionally witnessing her chest being exposed. As they locked in on her bare torso it was nearly impossible for him to look away at that instant.

She then let out a piercing scream of horror which snapped him out of his stupor and found the will to look away.

"I'm sorry!" He exclaimed.

Rei covered her chest with her arms and rose to her feet, proceeding to kick him. "Y-You pig! You pervert, bastard!"

Each surprisingly rough kick smacked his thick noggin. Goten let out yelps of pain as he felt his head get whipped around from the force of each blow. He was in too much surprise and pain to fight back or stop her. He fell over on his back in defeat when she stopped her assault.

"I'll never forgive you!" She shouted before running off.

Goten winced and held his head as he sat up. Just who was that girl?


	2. You Again

**Chapter 2: You Again**

It was just another early morning at the shrine. The raven haired priestess was in the middle of her duties, sweeping up the entrance like always. It had rained the night before, leaving behind a lot of puddles and fallen wet leaves. Yet the one thing that stuck out was said priestess's temperament. She was internally steaming as her mind played back the events from the day before over and over again.

"Should have kicked him in the groin, too." She growled to herself.

Never had she been so angry and embarrassed. As if things weren't already stressful enough in her life. Now she has to deal with the thought of her wardrobe malfunction supplying a strange pervert material for all sorts of lewd fantasies. Her fingers clenched onto the broomstick, knuckles turning white. She wished she had him right in front of her just to kick him all over again. She didn't have the nerve to tell the girls what had really happened; just that she merely got caught in some branches, walking away with some scrapes. She just couldn't help feeling like she had been taken for a fool. Did he save her just to cop a feel? Were men really that low!? She had been so preoccupied with this she couldn't even bring herself to meditate this morning.

Her thoughts were interrupted as a string of sickly coughs could be heard from inside the house by the temple. She relinquished her tight hold on the broomstick as her lips fell to a concerned frown.

"Grandpa," she mumbled to herself as she was brought back to the unfortunate situation she had been worrying about all summer.

That's right, Grandpa was still sick. Last time she checked, his prescription was low as well. She sighed and set the broom against the wall before heading down the stairs to go pick up his refill at the pharmacy. She had already turned the corner, out of sight, by the time a group of motorcycles stopped in front of the shrine steps.

* * *

Goten scratched his head as he had been everywhere the newspaper ads directed him. So far everything had been taken by the time he got there. So this is what the news meant by the economy being terrible. He hung his head while trudging down the sidewalk. He had to find something. He really didn't want to go home a failure. An overlapping piece of the sidewalk stood against his foot, causing him to trip forward and slam face first into a telephone pole.

"Ouch!" The half saiyan grimaced and held his nose in pain. His eyes met a sheet of paper nailed to the post. "Help Wanted at the Hikawa Shrine." He read out loud.

Maybe this was a sign! Uh, well it  _was_ a sign. But a way to tell him this could be the break he was looking for! He dusted himself off and began to march forward before stopping. Just how could he get to the Hikawa Shrine?

A flood of familiar video game noises flew out of the entrance door to the Crown Arcade as a blonde man around his age stepped out with a broom. He looked friendly; maybe he'd be able to give him directions.

"Excuse me," he spoke up as he stepped towards him.

The blonde man looked up and gave him his full attention.

"Could you tell me how to get to Hikawa Shrine from here? I'm totally lost," Goten said bluntly.

The blonde smiled in response. "Certainly," he said cheerfully, "you just head down this sidewalk until you see a stop sign, make a left, and then keep going straight until you see a bus stop. The steps to the shrine are right there, you can't miss them." The man explained while motioning with his hand.

Goten nodded in understanding, simple enough. "Thank you." He bowed his head.

"What business do you have going to the shrine anyway? If you don't mind me asking, that is," The blonde man scratched his cheek while leaning against his broomstick.

"I'm hoping to get a job there. I've been pretty unlucky on finding one so far," Goten answered sheepishly.

The other man nodded in response. "I see. Well maybe you should take it up with my friend there. Ask for Rei. I'm sure Rei will understand."

Goten smiled from ear to ear. A total stranger had given him a helpful tip. Maybe this was the one he was waiting on!

"Thanks, I'll do that!" He said and waved him goodbye as he headed down the sidewalk.

"And be sure to tell Rei that Motoki says hi!" The blonde called out to him.

"I will; thanks again!" Goten shouted before he dashed out of earshot.

Today could finally be the day things started looking up for him. With a spring in his step, he followed the directions Motoki gave him until he came to the shrine steps.

"This is it. It's time to put my game face on." He took a deep breath and lightly slapped his cheeks with both hands. "Ready," he stated out loud and hurried up the steps.

* * *

"I'm not fond of repeating myself, old man. You push sixty percent of your temple donations to us and we'll guarantee you total protection. Seems like a nice deal. Wouldn't you agree?" A man in a well-tailored suit with an odd pattern asked; his posse of thugs around him snickered.

The short old man in front of them coughed. "You woke me up for this? The donations are strictly for the temple. What do you need so much money for anyway, buying more of those awful suits? Kids today have such terrible taste." The bald priest shook his head.

Some of the thugs laughed at their leader's expense.

"You think you're smart, old man?!" He fumed and signaled his goons. "Rough him up!" He barked at the men.

The trio closed in on the priest. Unbeknownst to them, this old man wasn't going to take a beating lying down and kicked one in the groin before punching another in the gut. The third one dodged his punch and kicked him in the head.

"Hold him down!" One yelled as two grabbed him by the arms. The third one gave him another rough kick, this time to the gut.

"Not so tough now, are you?" The leader mocked.

The old man glared daggers at him, no fear in his eyes.

"He doesn't look like he'll crack, boss," one goon spoke up.

"Yeah, why would he? Fighting like he is, it doesn't matter if he loses. He's already got one foot in the grave and all," the leader said while lighting up a cigarette. "So here's my new deal. You pay us protection or else we'll hold your sweet little granddaughter for ransom. Being a politician's daughter, I imagine she'll fetch a good price. If not, well, I guess I could use someone to clean my floors," he said smugly, taking a puff of the lit cigarette.

The elderly man growled in contempt. "If you dare lay a finger on my granddaughter," he warned their superior.

"Who's going to stop me?" The guy sneered and lightly tapped the cigarette so the excess ash would fall. He took one more puff before kicking the old man again. "It certainly isn't going to be you."

He used his free hand to straighten out his suit jacket as he stomped his cigarette to put it out. The old man fell to his knees in pain and let out a yelp and a cough. The two men holding his arms relinquished their hold, letting him collapse.

"Hey!" An unfamiliar voice screamed at the group of delinquents, getting their attention. "Anyone ever taught you dirt bags to respect your elders?" Goten clenched his fists at the sight of the injustice he had just witnessed.

"It looks like we have ourselves a hero, boss!" One thug hooted.

"Damn, I hate them hero types," the leader scoffed and snapped his fingers. "Break his legs," he ordered.

Goten's black eyes narrowed in determination, blood boiling. Not if he didn't break theirs first! The first came at him with the intent to grab him. The spikey-haired teen slickly sidestepped out of the way and caught his arm, bringing his elbow down on it. A pain-filled cry escaped the first henchman's lips as he held his arm in pain. The second made an attempt to kick him but he caught his leg and pulled, whirling him around only to let go and send him flying to the first one, like a ragdoll. The two goons rammed heads and fell to the floor.

The old man, struggling to sit up, rubbed his eyes at what he was witnessing. This young man was taking out thugs who could bench press his weight with incredible ease. The third one pulled out a switchblade and lunged for him. No matter how fast the felon would thrust, Goten would always be on the lateral of his attack. Goten caught the blade in between his middle and index fingers and bent it so it was coiled instead of straight, startling a gasp from his opponent. Goten merely flashed him a smile before greeting his fist with the thug's chin in the form of an uppercut. The third flew back and landed on top of the other conquered hoodlums.

The leader stood in shock with his jaw nearly hitting the floor. They are in no way a match for him.

"T-This isn't over. We'll be back! You'll see!" He threatened before running off.

"Boss, wait for us!" The thugs cried out as they picked themselves up and ran off with their tails between their legs.

Goten cockily brushed the dust off his shoulder. "That takes care of that," he said, feeling accomplished.

His stomach then growled loudly. Looks like that little warm up worked up his appetite.

The old man tried to rise to his feet. "You saved me," he stated before breaking out into a coughing fit.

Goten's expression changed to that of concern. "Hey, let me help you there," he said as he hurried to get him.

In his haste, he slipped on a puddle and lost his balance, the back of his head colliding with the stone bench. He landed on the floor with his face down.

* * *

Rei had already reached the corner coming back to see a group of fearful crooks run down the steps and scurry away on their motorcycles. She let out a gasp as her mind went into panic over who was up there.

"Grandpa!" She shrieked and ran up the steps in desperation.

'Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay,' her mind pleaded repeatedly for his safety. She panted once she came to the final step and her violet eyes searched for him frantically. A small, relieved smile graced her lips as she saw the short old man on his feet.

"Grandpa..!" She shouted as she hurried to him.

Grandpa Hino strained with trying to lift the limp body of his savior up with means to get him in the house. Rei flung her arms around her grandfather and embraced him.

"I saw a group of gang members leave and got so worried," she said and looked him over. "Did they hurt you?" She asked anxiously as she noticed that he looked dirty, clothes wet and stained from the floor puddles.

"I'm okay, Rei. But it could've been much worse if that young lad hadn't saved me," Grandpa assured her. "Help me get him inside. He hit his head." He coughed once more as he strained to pull the unconscious man up by the arm.

"Grandpa, let me handle it. You're still sick!" Rei insisted and hoisted the young man up from behind.

Her grandfather's savior groaned at the sudden amount of force.

"Are you awake?" She asked gently and reached a slender hand to turn his head to get a better look at his face.

Goten was currently seeing stars from the hit to the head and drained from hunger. A lovely voice brought him back to reality along with a soft touch on his cheek. Only, he was sure he'd heard it before. His eyes slowly opened to meet the same gorgeous eyes he'd seen yesterday.

"Hey, it's you…" He whispered.

Rei's eyes widened in shock once she realized she was staring at the same face of the stranger that saved her  _and_  he recognized her.

"Y-You!" Rei shook in anger before letting go of him and introducing his skull with her foot in the form of a roundhouse kick.


	3. Have you met?

**Chapter 3: Have you met?**

_Splashing could be heard as light poured down through the mass of leaves on the towering trees. The sound of children's laughter followed along with more splashing in the river below._

_"I'll get you!" Young seven year old Goten said while in the middle of a splash war._

_"Not if I get you first!" The voice of a little girl replied, giggling._

_A faint call echoed from the distance and reached their ears._

_"Aw, time to go," the girl spoke with disappointment._

_"No fair. I was winning," Goten whined._

_"Was not!" the girl shot back, splashing his face before the two giggled._

_"Are you coming back to play again?" He asked hopefully._

_"I'll come back." The girl gave a nod._

_"Promise..?" Goten held up his pinky._

_"I promise," she said while interlacing her pinky with his._

* * *

'Who was she? Why can't I remember her face?' Goten thought as he floated out of the chamber of his subconscious.

He stirred as he started coming to. He found himself on a thin futon on the hardwood floor with his head sandwiched between a pillow and an ice pack.

"You're being ridiculous!" An all too familiar female voice rang in his ears, muffled slightly by the sliding doors.

"I'm telling you the truth!" An older male voice replied.

"Where am I?" Goten grumbled and sat up to rub the sore lump on his head.

The ice pack fell on his lap before he lifted the blanket off himself. Sluggishly he inched over to the doors and slid them open to witness the heated conversation stop abruptly.

"Oh good, you're awake," the old man he saved earlier spoke. "I apologize for what happened earlier. My granddaughter is rather difficult and short-tempered," he said sadly while hanging his head.

"Grandpa..!" The young woman exclaimed in annoyance.

Goten blinked as it was all coming back to him. He'd saved that old man from the batch of thugs and then he'd fallen down. He couldn't help but feel a tad embarrassed for that display of clumsiness. It must've made him look like such an amateur!

Looking back at the woman's face, he blushed red as he realized he had been right. She was the girl he'd saved from drowning. Then he saw her… he avoided eye contact and noticed a tray with tea cups and snacks on the table. His empty stomach suddenly took over as his face lit up in glee.

"Are those rice crackers?" He asked.

"Why, yes. Are you hungry?" The old man asked.

"Starving actually…" Goten answered in a mumble.

"Well, in that case, have as many as you like," the priest offered.

Goten sat down and joined them at the table, stuffing his face with crackers and other assorted snacks. He was in a state of absolute bliss before the raven-haired beauty cleared her throat to direct his attention back to them. Goten looked up at her with his coal colored eyes and stared at her blankly while she folded her arms.

"Just what are you doing here!? Did you stalk me, follow me home?" She raged.

Goten choked back on his food and pounded on his chest in order to force it down. The older man passed him a glass of water, which he gulped down all too eagerly and gasped for breath.

"What? No. I would never! That's not what I'm doing here at all." He shook his head fretfully under the persecution.

"I take it you two already met," the woman's grandfather deduced.

"Yes, and he's a total swine!" The miko seethed with a clenched fist.

"I am not!" Goten argued desperately.

"Enough!" The elder interjected authoritatively.

Both of them piped down immediately.

"Now, let's start with the basics. Tell us who you are and what brings you to our shrine," he said, motioning for the young man to speak.

"My name is Son Goten. You see, I came to the city looking for a job and haven't been able to get one along with an affordable place to live. I saw your help wanted sign and, well, here I am. Oh, and there was also this guy that pointed me here named Motoki? He said to ask for Rei." The spikey-haired teen scratched his cheek, hoping he remembered the names right.

"I'm Rei." The young woman pointed at herself with narrowed eyes.

Goten paled in response and gulped. 'Oh boy…' He thought and felt himself begin to sweat nervously.

Looked like all that good luck he was having had to run out sometime.

"Well, now. He seems harmless enough." The grandfather smiled after letting out a few coughs.

"Harmless? He's a sleaze ball!" Rei pointed accusingly at him in outrage.

"I am not; I was performing CPR!" Goten said, starting to get defensive.

He didn't like his moral character being besmirched by someone who didn't even know him or his intentions.

"CPR..? What would you have needed CPR for? Rei?" The old man asked, turning to his granddaughter in confusion.

Rei huffed in frustration. "Yesterday, I went swimming and…I almost drowned," she admitted meekly. She had not told him in an effort not to worry him while he was in his current condition.

"You're telling me he saved your life?" Tears formed in the older man's eyes as he embraced his granddaughter. "Why didn't you say anything? Do you know what would happen if anything ever happened to you?" Rei frowned as she patted his back, this was exactly what she wanted to avoid. "You're all I have left in this world, Rei." His voice was muffled against her abdomen along with the sound of sniffling.

Goten felt his infuriation from before die down as he witnessed the touching scene unfold between the two. The mood had changed dramatically.

"Of course I know. Grandpa, I'm going to be fine," she assured him with a softer, more sentimental tone.

She hated seeing him like this. He raised his head off his granddaughter and dried his eyes with his sleeve.

"Indeed you will. Because starting today Goten's going to live with us and tomorrow he'll help you work the shrine and act as your personal bodyguard!" He decreed happily.

If Goten had more crackers or water in his mouth, that would have been the moment to spit them out. He did not see that coming, not even from a mile away. Neither did Rei, judging by the shock on her face.

"Grandpa-!" Rei tried to object.

"You'll work for room and board. It is the least we can do for you after you saved us both. What do you say?" He asked, offering his hand to Goten.

Goten took a moment to think it over with his hand pensively pressed against his lips. They seemed like they could use the extra help and security in case those thugs came back. Plus it seemed easy enough along with the free accommodation. It was a rare package deal he couldn't pass up. He raised his hand to shake his in accord.

"I say we have a deal, Mr.…" His voice trailed off as he wasn't sure what to call his new boss.

"Hino, but you can call me Grandpa. Everyone does," Grandpa said cheerfully before covering a cough with his sleeve.

"Grandpa, are you nuts?!" Rei exclaimed. "And wait a minute, what would I need a bodyguard for? I can defend myself!" She added with an angry twitch.

"As of right now, I can't take any chances. I wasn't enough to fight them off. If those hooligans come back, who knows what they'll do to you. I don't want anything bad to happen to you, Rei. With someone else looking after you, I'll be able to rest easier," he said and patted her hand.

Rei looked unsettled as she eyed him, then Goten, before letting out a large sigh of defeat. "Fine, but it'll only be temporary."

Grandpa smiled. "That's my girl. Now go show him the guestroom next to yours. That's where he'll be staying," he insisted.

"What? No! Then he'll only be a sliding door away! Why can't we give him one down the hall?" Rei balled her fists.

"Rei, he's going to be responsible for protecting you. It's important that he'll be close by in the middle of the night, should anything happen," he spoke with conviction.

Rei ground her teeth; Grandpa was too determined to have things his way. It sure ran in the family.

* * *

Later that night after a hefty dinner, Goten yawned and stretched, deciding it was time for him to turn in. With the exception of Rei's understandably sour mood, the Hinos had been most hospitable to him. The house behind the temple was rather cozy. They even had a tub that was powered by firewood just like the one at home. He felt like he wasn't going to have much trouble adjusting to things, which was comforting. He stared out of the open rice paper door that gave him the view of the courtyard. There were so few stars in comparison to how the sky looked back in the woods. The city lights made up for the obscurity though.

'Tomorrow's my first day on the job,' he thought. For the first time Goten couldn't help but feel a little worried. It seemed like this was as good as things were going to get for Operation: Move Out. If he screwed up he'd be back on the street on the job hunt. That was the last thing he wanted.

'It'll only be temporary.' Goten recalled Rei's words.

Guess he had more reason to be worried. Rei had given him a couple of looks throughout dinner like she wanted to stab him with her chopsticks. If he was going to live there, it'd be best if he tried to get along well with her to avoid getting kicked out, literally. With a firm nod he decided he had to chat with Rei to clear up any misunderstandings she had about yesterday.

Creaking from the hardwood floor down the hall could be heard along with footsteps drawing closer. The lights around the house went out one by one as the glow through the thin rice paper doors that lit his room was now dark. A dim light from a lamp in the next room clicked on as Rei's silhouette walked into view.

'It looks like she finished washing the dishes,' he thought, feeling a little guilty she was left to do them alone.

Both of his hosts seemed pretty appalled at the fantastic amount of food he could force down. He would have offered to help clean up but the aforementioned looks she gave him left him pretty intimidated. He lightly cleared his throat, now would be the time to speak up.

"S-Say these doors sure are thin," he mused.

He wasn't graced with an answer but the change in her silhouette's movements confirmed she'd heard him. He slowly moved closer to the door dividing them.

"Mm hmm, they're thin all right," he added, twiddling his thumbs. "I hope they aren't as flimsy as they look." His eyes stared at her figure in the corner.

The door slid open suddenly as he locked eyes with her. She stared at him harshly. Maybe this wasn't a good idea.

"Let's get one thing straight, you're staying here because my grandfather's a generous man who is still recovering from a persistent fever, mind you. So the only thing keeping me from throwing you out is the fact that I need all the help around the shrine I can get. I already thanked you for saving my life so don't you think for a second your stay here is validated because of it. Furthermore, if you're going to be one  _flimsy_  door away, I'd prefer it if you stay on your side at all times. Do I make myself clear?" The fiery shrine maiden thundered.

He merely gave her a frantic nod in response.

"Good." With that, the door between them slammed shut.

He held up his hand. "Rei," his voice slipped out.

"What?" She replied, sounding agitated.

"C-Could I have an extra pillow?" He asked, aborting what he had in mind to discuss.

The door swung open and Rei chucked the pillow at him, hitting him right in the face.

"Thank you," his muffled voice retorted through the cushion.

She turned off the light and he climbed into his bed. His calloused hand ran through his hair, his mind cursing his stupidity. He should have asked her to smother him with it while he was at it.


	4. First Day at the Shrine

**Chapter 4: First Day at the Shrine**

"Rise and shine. It's time for you to get ready for work," Rei said and slid the door open to let in the sunlight.

Goten covered his closed eyes with his arm and let out a groan as he could feel the intensity of the brightness.

"Ah, geez…" he murmured.

"Come on, get dressed. It's almost 7AM. Breakfast is waiting for you in the kitchen." Rei put her hands on her hips and walked across the room as he was lethargically getting up.

"How long have you been up?" He asked in mid-yawn.

"Since 4AM."

Goten did a double take. What was she, some sort of vampire!? Wait, that wasn't right. Vampires slept during the day. Just why were they up at such an ungodly hour?

"Come on, now. Stop dawdling and get up!" She clapped her hands hurriedly so he could get moving. "Meet me out front once you're finished," she added with a huff.

The shaggy haired tenant let out a grunt. He was starting to wonder if it was the morning, her dislike for him, or she was just generally this unpleasant. He began to stretch and change his clothes. For what it was worth, it sure was nice of her to make breakfast for him. In fact, she was the first person to cook him a homemade breakfast since he'd left home.

* * *

He stepped out after breakfast, and to his surprise, saw a large line of people looking to buy charms. It sure seemed like Rei did have her work cut out for her. He walked towards the front of the line and a young boy called him out.

"Hey, you can't cut in line!" He squeaked.

Goten flinched at getting called out in front of the rest of the adults in the line.

"But I'm not cutting. I'm not buying anything," Goten countered.

"You're not from here, are you?" The boy's mother asked.

"Well, I just moved in yesterday," the demi-Saiyan answered modestly.

"I see, so you haven't heard the news," another woman chimed in. Goten looked confused.

"Up until a few days ago this area's been terrorized by the Typhoon Gang. They're relatively new but have been relentless in their take over. They threatened people to pay them protection or else they assaulted them violently. It's been a total nightmare," the mother enlightened the teen on current events.

Goten's eyes widened in realization. So those thugs from the day before weren't just your regular street urchins. It seemed like they were stirring up enough trouble to strike fear among the masses.

"We came here to buy some charms for protection," the mother added while holding her little boy's hand.

That explained the line; however, Goten couldn't help but think out loud. "What makes you believe the charms are going to help you?"

The women motioned for him to step closer so they could whisper to him. "The priestess that lives here is said to possess fantastic powers." Goten's interest peaked at the sound of this.

"The priestess, you say? You mean the one right over there?" He asked and pointed at the booth where Rei was handing out charms.

The women swatted him while shushing him. "Don't point!" They said in unison. "Yes, that is the priestess," the older woman confirmed. "It's said she has powers of foresight, and her blessings usually work wonders."

Goten pressed his hand to his lips and pondered over what he had just heard. They seemed so convinced that there was no way it was just empty gossip. There seemed to be more to Rei than he thought. Just what sort of powers could someone like her possess; were they strong?

"Hey!" Rei's voice barked at him, earning his attention. "What are you doing over there?"

Goten bowed to excuse himself from the group he had conversed with and jogged to the front of the line.

"You know, you can't just start a conversation with everyone when you've got stuff to do," she said as she handed him a bucket with cleaning rags inside.

He gave a nod, looking fretful for being caught wasting time. "Right, sorry," he apologized and took the bucket.

"I need you to clean the shrine floors and polish them. I mean really polish them, until you can see your reflection," the shrine maiden instructed.

"Okay, I'll try not to get mesmerized by my stunning good looks." He grinned ear to ear.

Rei merely eyed him, not amused.

"Oh, I'll find your sense of humor. It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, but I will find it!" Goten squinted his eyes at her, shaking his fist at her dramatically while he was backing away.

He then turned to flee into the shrine to clean before she could retort. The customers who saw him at the front of the line burst out laughing and the priestess cracked a smile before concealing it.

"Next," she called, getting back to business.

* * *

Goten had been scrubbing the floors as instructed for the past few hours. This was a lot harder than it looked and it was surprisingly much more time consuming than he anticipated. Did he have to use rags? Why not a mop? He stopped to wipe the sweat off his brow until he noticed how red and wrinkled his fingers were. He only had hands like these soaking in the bath after rigorous training or sparring with his father. To think he thought he had it rough then.

"No doubt about it," said a couple of young girls passing by, holding up their charms. "With the blessings she gave us, we'll definitely ace our exams!"

"Yeah, I've always come here since New Year's. I got a lucky-in-love fortune and a week later I had a cute boyfriend!" The girls erupted in squeals as they walked towards the exit together.

Goten's head tilted in wonder. He couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with his curiosity concerning Rei and her mysterious "powers". Come to think of it, Rei in general was pretty mysterious compared to most girls he knew. Then again he'd never met a girl who lived in a shrine, or woke up at 4AM.

'She's so focused on working,' he thought to himself as he dipped the rag in the bucket. 'I wonder what she does when she's done for the day. If she's ever done that is…' He pouted and went back to work.

* * *

"…and done." Goten said before falling face first on the now sparkling floor.

That was the most exercise he'd done in ages. His stomach agreed as it rumbled for nourishment. He looked at the clock on the wall and smiled.

"Almost lunch time," he said dreamily.

So what if he had to do some cleaning? He had a bed to sleep on, a roof over his head, and they fed him. As far as Goten was concerned, the Hinos had his gratitude and unwavering loyalty.

He could hear birds cawing nearby and got back up on his feet. He walked toward the sounds and poked his head outside to see Rei kneeling on the ground, feeding two black crows. Goten watched in awe; he didn't think Rei would have a soft spot for animals. Rei stroked the birds dotingly as they pecked on crumbs and seeds. It was like a whole different side of her. She looked so peaceful and content. A smile slowly graced his lips as he approached her.

"Friends of yours?" His voice snapped her out of her reverie.

Rei turned around to glare at him. "Shouldn't you still be cleaning the floors?" She grumbled, voice dripping with annoyance.

"I finished. Shouldn't you be minding the charm stand?" He cockily rubbed his nose like his father would do.

"It's lunch hour. Business is practically dead around this time," she said through her teeth. She'd be damned if she would let him sass her.

"What are their names?" Goten knelt right next her, ignoring her previous statement.

"Phobos and Deimos," Rei answered, pointing at which one was which.

"What weird names," Goten said and reached his hand out to stroke the one she called Deimos.

The crow looked at him peculiarly since she wasn't used to contact with any other humans than the shrine maiden herself.

"It's okay, I won't hurt you." Goten spoke softly and caressed the bird with the back of his hand.

Rei's violet eyes widened at the sight of Deimos nuzzling against his hand. Just how was he doing that? These were  _her_  crows! They'd attacked Usagi the first day she'd met her yet here they were warming up to this goofball.

"Aw, look Rei. I think they like me." He chuckled as Phobos hopped onto his shoulder to join in on the nuzzling.

Rei was speechless and just looked upon the display of affection they were giving him. Was this a sign? What could this mean?

"They're girls, aren't they?" He asked, now having a better look at them up close.

"Yeah…most people can't really tell," Rei mumbled, still in a state of bewilderment.

Phobos continued nuzzling his cheek while Deimos hopped onto his thigh, still nuzzling against his hand.

"They're really friendly!" He laughed.

"How are you doing that?" Rei asked, mind boggled.

"Doing what?" He blinked, tilting his head to the side.

"They don't usually behave this way around strangers at all." Rei crossed her arms.

"I guess animals just like me; after all I like them too," he said while continuing to stroke the amorous birds. "I grew up in the mountain district so I'm used to them," he added.

"You did, huh?" Rei's expression softened, her hand trailing her ribcage over her robes where the cuts from her visit to the mountain district were. She forgot how lucky she was to have had him there at that exact moment.

"Do they still hurt?" He asked gently.

Rei glanced up at him and lightly shook her head.

"You're pretty tough." He grinned.

"I manage," she corrected him before slowly rising to her feet; she was in more pain than she let on.

"You okay?" He asked when he saw her clench her eyes for a second.

"I'm fine. I have to make lunch anyway," she said and began to step away, showing her back to him.

"Wait, would you like some help?" He offered, shrugging the birds off before standing.

Rei let out a sigh before looking at him over her shoulder. "I guess you could bring Grandpa his tea."

Goten flashed a smile, happy that she was being accommodating to his readiness to assist. Maybe she was starting to trust him more.

* * *

The tea tray was set up for him and Rei got to work on preparing the food. He carried the tea tray into Grandpa's bedroom. The old man coughed and sat up so Goten could hand him his cup.

"Thank you, my boy," the elder said before taking a sip.

"No problem." He smiled back, eyes still looking quite concerned. "How're you holding up?"

"Well, I'm not dead yet. So that's good news, means my time is not yet up," the priest mused before turning to look at him. "How goes work? I hope Rei hasn't worn you ragged."

Goten merely shook his head and beamed confidently. "No, it's okay; I can handle anything she dishes out."

"Your hands say otherwise," Grandpa said, pointing out the redness on Goten's fingers. "Rei usually puts on some ointment for that after she's finished cleaning the floors. I think the tube is on the counter of her vanity mirror. Go put some on."

Goten nodded and decided to heed his suggestion when he left his room. He'd never seen Rei's room before, maybe he could take a look around while 'finding' that ointment. He went down the hall to the door past his bedroom and gently slid it open to step inside. Good lord was it neat and, to his surprise, pretty normal.

She had a book shelf with literary works on it, a computer, a small TV, a desk, a table, a bed, a closet, a lamp, and a vanity mirror. It was spacious too, much bigger than his. Then again his room here made his old bedroom at Mt. Paozu look like a small walk-in closet. He saw a school bag on the floor against her desk. Rei did look like she was still in high school, hence the computer and books. He figured she probably read more than watched TV or typed at the computer, seeing as both devices looked untouched. He stopped in front of the vanity mirror and glanced at the assorted objects on the counter. A bottle of expensive looking perfume, a set of combs and hairbrushes, a make-up kit, some creams, and a jewelry box all sat on the counter.

'Seems like an ordinary girl's room,' he thought before slowly opening the jewelry box.

He held the top open as he began to sift through earrings and bracelets before realizing it was layered like a bento. He took out the top tray to look at the compartment underneath. He blinked when he picked up an inquiring object.

"What is this, some sort of pen?" He mumbled as he took a closer look at it. It had a symbol of a circle with an arrow emerging from it, one he recognized as a male sex symbol. He shrugged and put it back down. It must've come in a set since there was a matching watch next to it. He noticed something poking out from the tray underneath and took it out to see. An old photograph rested at the bottom of the box. He pulled it out and held it up close to get a good look at it.

'Is that Rei?' He thought while observing the woman in the photograph.

Upon further observation, he concluded it wasn't the miko, seeing as this woman's features were more refined. It almost had him fooled though; they could pass off as sisters! Or in a more likely case, she was her mother.

'Wow, so this is Rei's mom…no wonder Rei's so gorgeous.' Goten felt a smile tug at his lips before the thought hit him. 'Does Rei's mom live here?'

"What are you doing?!" Rei exclaimed, standing behind him.

Goten whirled back to face her, her mother's photograph still in hand. "Oh I-I was just looking-"

He saw the fire in Rei's eyes. "What have I told you about coming into my room?" She growled.

Goten gulped, realizing he had been caught doing something he knew he shouldn't. "Grandpa told me to come in and…"

When her eyes fell on the picture he was holding, the anger inside her was at a boiling point. "Touch my things!?" Rei seethed and stormed up to him, swiping the photo out of his hand and shoving him out into the hall forcefully. "Get out, now!" She demanded.

"Rei, you don't understand! I was only trying to—" Goten fell back on his behind and tried to explain, but Rei wasn't having it.

"Just because you saved me doesn't mean you have an open invitation to anything! Now stay out!" She screamed in rage before closing the door.

Goten laid there on the hallway floor, looking pretty scared. He thought he was already in hot water regarding their first meeting, but it looked like whatever he had just done was a much worse offense. Instead of finding answers, his head was buzzing with countless new questions.

The most common question being: 'What did I just get myself into?'

**AN: Hey everybody! Sorry for the delay on uploading this chapter. Just wanted to let you all know I have up until chapter 7 already written up but it just takes a while to get them beta'd before posting. And my lovely beta Megakat is a very busy lady. Feel free to check out her work sometime!**

**And just wanted to get this out there to my faithful readers: This is going to be a fic that is going to move at a very slow and steady pace with Rei and Goten's relationship. I know we're all used to fics that just jump into the romance but this fic is going to be much more about the journey than the destination. Sorry to disappoint anyone expecting different but I am so thankful for those of you still reading and all of your reviews!**


	5. Pillow Talk

**Chapter 5: Pillow Talk**

Goten stretched and yawned loudly as he held the broomstick in his hand. He had been sweeping the entrance for at least an hour. Well, it felt like an hour. Of course, it wouldn't have taken so long if the wind had stopped blowing the collected dust and leaves around.

He looked toward the temple and called out, "Hey Rei, mind if I take a break? I'm pooped!"

Rei held back her long hair with her hand so the wind couldn't blow it into her gorgeous face, making Goten blush.

'She may be a grouch, but boy is she sexy,' he thought. The priestess never ceased to amaze him with her beauty.

Her violet eyes examined the grounds. He'd done a decent job, yet she didn't want to let him off that easily.

"I guess that's enough sweeping for now. Take a short break." She waved her hand dismissively.

She turned back to him after a slight pause. "But afterwards I expect you to clean the floors inside the shrine," she said with her arms crossed.

Goten pouted. "Aw, come on Rei, I cleaned them yesterday! Do they really have to be cleaned every day?"

"Yes," she said, not missing a beat. "Oh, and afterwards you can beat the tatami mats for dust before dinner," she added while lightly stretching her arms.

Goten huffed. It had been a week since Rei had caught him snooping in her bedroom and she'd made good on dishing out her payback. She'd piled on the work load and had refused to cook for him. So he'd spent all week surviving off cup ramen noodles that he had to heat up himself. The work load annoyed him most, seeing as Rei just wanted to keep him busy by giving him the same things every day. Now he understood how his mother must have felt cleaning up after him and Gohan, not to mention his father. The raven-haired man eyed the young woman with a scowl on his face.

"I did that yesterday, too! Come on, my arms are tired," he whined.

Truthfully, he had endured worse pain while training with his father and even his best friend. But this was different. Chores were different, he was definitely convinced. Chores were manifested evil! Couldn't he take the rest of the day off from the evil chores that he had already conquered? The consecutive routine was sure enough to drive him bonkers.

"Huh, I should've suspected Grandpa was over exaggerating when he said you took down three armed gang members with your bare hands." Rei shook her head.

She couldn't believe that Grandpa had built him up to be this strong action movie hero— and here he was complaining like a child.

Goten blinked in shock, feeling like he'd taken a hard kick to the ego with her cynical comment. "B-But I did!"

What was she trying to say? Sure, he wasn't the strongest in the universe, or the second strongest, or even the third, but dammit he was in the top five!

Rei flipped her hair back effortlessly when the breeze subsided. "Then what's so hard about a little manual labor? I'm sure it's a walk in the park for any big strong man like you," Rei said as she leaned against the column, hand on her hip.

Goten furrowed his eyebrows in agitation. "Of course it's not! I could have this place spotless in no time!" Goten was so riled up, he had not realized what had just come out of his mouth.

Rei scoffed as she thought it a mere empty bluff. "Oh you can, can you?" She asked as she stepped off the column and walked towards him.

"Of course I can! In fact, I can do it in forty-five minutes, guaranteed!" He exclaimed, sticking his chest out in pride.

"Done in less than an hour, huh?" Rei withheld the urge to laugh; he couldn't be serious.

Not even in a hurry could she be done with those chores that fast.

"All right, we'll wager on it then," she said. "If you lose, you'll have to do laundry, too. That means hanging them up to dry, folding, and putting them away. If you win, I'll cook you dinner of your choice, I guess." She shrugged at the suggestion while snickering inwardly. 'Fat chance,' she thought.

Goten smirked at the snarky young woman. If only she knew what she would be in for! "You're on!"

The demi-Saiyan then sped off at an inhuman speed, taking the broom with him.

Rei had just blinked and Goten was no longer in front of her. "W-Where'd you go..?" She asked in disbelief.

Goten sped through the temple, sweeping and dusting as he went through. He hurriedly cleaned the floors until they were polished. He then went and cleaned the tatami mats as instructed, pounding away the dust. Once he had set the mats back in their proper places, he grinned and glanced down at his watch.

'Hmm...Fifteen minutes. Not bad at all. Now to go and get Rei,' he thought smugly.

Rei stood in astonishment when she saw Goten rush by as a blur while sweeping the temple clean. His speed was unreal, like watching someone fast-forward a video. Her eyes couldn't keep up at all.

Goten whistled nonchalantly as he casually strolled back over to the dumbstruck young woman and stopped a few inches away from her. "Everything's done," he said, finding it hard to hide his grin.

She recovered from her stupor and looked up at him with narrow eyes as she walked past him, bumping his shoulder as she did so. She looked around for any detail out of line. She got nervous when she couldn't find a single one.

"Impossible. It hasn't even been a half hour," she said warily.

Goten stepped up behind her with his chest puffed out. "My favorite foods are beef stew with rice, miso soup, rice balls, Lo Mein with shrimp, and chicken. I like baked chicken, fried chicken, broiled chicken, oh yeah, and dumplings." Goten continued rambling off what he wanted for dinner, paying careful attention to not leave anything out. He wanted to use a free homemade dinner to its full advantage after a week on just ramen. Why not ask for a full-on buffet?

Rei hung her head, an angry vein pulsing off of it. She clenched her balled fists. She then suddenly whirled to face him. "What did you do!? Nobody can get this done so fast— not even with three people!" She exclaimed.

Goten stopped rattling off what he wanted for dinner and shrank away before glancing at her. "Well, um, it was part of my training with my dad and brother...?" Goten offered weakly. He'd only known this girl for just a week, there was no way he'd tell her about his heritage...at least not yet.

"Training..?" She inched away while cocking a brow at him. Just who the heck was he? Why could he move so fast? And was Grandpa right to trust him with looking after her?

Goten nodded while laughing nervously, holding his hand behind his head.

"Yeah we—oh look, we have guests!" Goten said as he turned towards the entrance.

Frankly, he was happy for a well-timed distraction.

Rei turned to where he pointed and let out a squeak as she saw her friends making it to the top of the stairs.

"Hide!" Rei turned back to Goten and shoved him inside. "Go! Go!"

"Ouch! Hey!" Goten said as the young woman punched him in the back repeatedly until he was inside the shrine. What was wrong with her all of a sudden?

"Just stay in there and be quiet!" She said before sliding the rice paper door closed between them. She turned around, facing her approaching friends with her back against it.

"Rei-chan..!" Minako called out waving.

"Hey!" Rei replied as she waved back, wearing a nervous smile.

Usagi ran up to her friend and embraced her tightly in desperation. Rei's eyes nearly bugged out from the tight squeeze the blonde gave her, causing Makoto to sweatdrop.

"Easy Usa, let the poor girl breathe," the tall brunette said while laughing slightly. Though deep down, she had been a little worried about her friend as well. Rei hadn't called her over so she could watch her favorite soaps on her TV.

"Oh come on, Mako-chan. Drop the act, we all missed Rei." Minako grinned.

"You haven't called any of us. We started to worry that something had happened," Ami spoke honestly.

"I'm sorry. I've been okay, really." Rei gave them a small smile. She didn't realize how much she had missed her friends until now.

Usagi finally let her go while she continued to sniffle. "Well, now that we know you're ok, let's go inside so we can eat, gossip about boys, and read some manga. After all, you promised me and Minako-chan we could read your manga!" The blonde rambled on.

Makoto shook her head while smiling. She then glanced at Rei. "Are you cooking or should I?"

"Inside..?" Rei's smile faltered, growing nervous. "You know… maybe that's not such a good idea. Grandpa's still not better and needs his rest. I also promised to make dinner," she said, speaking rather fast-paced— like Minako or Usagi would on a sugar rush.

Makoto narrowed her eyes at her raven-haired friend suspiciously. "Rei, are you ok?" She asked, scrutinizing her every move.

"Of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be okay?" Rei let out a small nervous laugh before stopping it abruptly.

Minako blinked before whispering to the rest of the group. "She's hiding something." The blonde with the red bow eyed the shrine maiden.

"Your grandfather should be all better now, shouldn't he?" Ami inquired.

"Well his symptoms are gone but the doctor ordered that he get some extra bed rest so he wouldn't stress himself out," Rei answered in a matter of fact tone.

Makoto narrowed her eyes even more. Something didn't make sense; Rei was very seldom nervous. The warrior of Jupiter was about to say something but saw someone near the window.

"Hey, who's that?" Makoto asked, pointing to the young man who quickly hid away from the window once his cover was blown.

Usagi glanced at the window before looking back at Makoto. "I didn't see anyone. What about you guys?" The blonde asked her other comrades.

"I didn't see anything." Ami shook her head.

"Me neither," Minako said.

Rei felt her stomach tighten and her heartbeat quicken. She'd merely told him to stay put and be quiet and he'd nearly messed it up.

"I don't think now's the right time. Maybe you can drop by tomorrow," Rei suggested, getting their attention once more.

Makoto's green eyes ogled her friend in response. Something was obviously wrong with Rei. She glanced at Usagi and Minako and suddenly got an idea. She just needed Rei to move from the door and she would be able to find out what was going on.

The brunette did her best to hide her grin as she spoke. "You know, I think Rei needs a little fresh air...maybe a little shopping and then the Crown Cafe for dinner?" Makoto smirked as their princess got excited.

"Rei, you totally need to get out! Right, Minako?" Usagi flailed.

"Yes! And I found the cutest shoes in the shopping outlet! I think they're having a sale!" Minako went on a tangent and squealed.

"A sale..?" Rei said, interest perking up. It had been a while since she'd bought herself something nice.

Usagi nodded her head vigorously and grabbed her friend by the hand. "Yeah, I was able to get a good buy on snow boots! Come on, Rei!"

"O-Okay..." Rei smiled, foolishly letting down her defenses.

Meanwhile, Goten was listening to the entire conversation and became aggravated. Rei couldn't leave! She had to make his victory dinner!

'If I step out, Rei will be mad at me. But if I stay here, I'll starve to death! After all it's been-' Goten glanced at his watch, 'two hours since I had a snack! At this rate I'll starve!' As if to confirm his thinking, his stomach growled very loud.

'Rei may get mad at me, but at least I'll be alive!' Goten thought as he slid the door open.

Rei froze in place as she heard the door slide open and slowly turned to face the young man, twitching in a mix of anger and embarrassment when she caught sight of him.

Goten laughed nervously with his hand behind his head. "So Rei, are you still going to make me my dinner?"

Usagi's and Makoto's jaws dropped open as they stared— more like gawked— at the young man.

Minako nearly fainted, holding onto Ami for support. "Dear god, Rei! You were hiding a man that you were going to cook dinner for?! How scandalous…!" She exclaimed. Ami merely blushed.

"It's nothing like that!" Rei stammered, cheeks turning red.

Goten's cheeks matched the same shade of red as Rei's as he twitched anxiously. Usagi's mouth was still wide open in awe while she blinked slowly.

Makoto finally recovered. "What the hell, Rei! Who is he, and what's he doing here?"

"He's a—" Rei was cut off by Minako.

"I know exactly what's going on here!" The warrior of love stated out loud, putting on Ami's glasses for a more analytical appearance. "Rei's the daughter of a politician. Obviously, such a position would mean Rei is a lady of good breeding. So at a young age, Rei was arranged by her father to wed the son of a colleague of his. Rei, probably needing the support for her grandfather and the shrine, decided to accept her duty gracefully. But that was until she laid eyes on him and fell in love at first sight. So much that she threw herself at him passionately and was so enamored that she wants him all to herself..." The blonde swooned giddily with dreamy eyes.

Rei twitched uncomfortably. "W-What..?" She asked, staring at her with a disturbed expression.

"We caught you in the middle of your honeymoon. Naughty, Rei." Minako said, playfully poking her friend's nose.

Usagi got hearts in her eyes and also sported a dreamy look on her face. "That's so romantic!"

Rei then snapped, blowing her top off at Minako. "LIKE HELL YOU DID! EVERYTHING YOU SAID IS ALL WRONG!" The priestess yelled.

Goten blankly stared at the blonde with the red bow in her hair. Just what the hell was she on?

Makoto narrowed her eyes at Rei. "Then who is he and what is he doing here?"

"He's a tenant! Grandpa hired him as an extra helping hand in exchange for room and board." Rei crossed her arms, furious at her silly friends. Goten, her beloved!? They were crazy!

Goten nodded his head in agreement at Rei's explanation.

Ami looked at them in understanding. "That seems reasonable. Maybe now you won't be so busy." It made sense for Rei to be busy all week; she was probably training him how to work in the shrine.

Usagi came out of her wistful state and frowned slightly. "Oh, that's not romantic at all."

Makoto rolled her eyes at her blonde friend's comment before turning to glare at Goten, earning a scared look from him. "Well, if there's nothing going on between you two, why were you trying to hide him from us?"

"Yeah," Minako leaned closer to Rei, eyeing her suspiciously. If not in a relationship, they could've been friends with benefits.

"Because then you'd start jumping to those ridiculous conclusions like you just did." Rei glared back, cheeks still red.

Minako looked between the two with a mischievous smirk. "Or you wanted him all to yourself," she said slyly.

"Minako-chan, that's not it at all!" Rei's face turned crimson.

"Guys, it's not like that! Besides, Rei would kill me if I even looked at her in that way!" Goten spoke up, frantically shaking his head.

Usagi beamed. "You know, I was watching novellas earlier, and the two main characters were adamant about not liking each other, but at the end of the episode they ended up sleeping together. Maybe that is what's going to happen between Rei and…uh-"

"Goten," he gently clarified, giving her a small smile. She seemed pretty nice. At least her and the blue haired girl weren't glaring daggers at him like the brunette or not grinning mischievously at him like the other blonde with the red bow. Rei sure did hang out with some weird people.

"Usagi, you watch too much television," Rei grumbled.

Usagi didn't listen, now recalling the scene from said novella where the main characters rendezvoused in a barn and made love in a pile of hay. 'That sure was steamy!' She thought to herself.

"Well, if what you're saying is true, maybe we can take the day to get to know Goten-kun. Hey, we could stay the night!" Minako proposed excitedly.

Rei felt a bead of sweat roll down her temple. "Bad idea," she thought out loud.

"Oh? I don't see how unless you two are sleeping together." Minako poked the warrior of fire's tummy friskily.

Rei lightly smacked her hand away. "We're not!"

Goten's face lit up. This was a dream come true! Four hot women wanted to get to know him… willingly, and at the  _same time_?!

"Well, I don't mind," he said innocently.

Usagi squealed. "Sleep over! Mako-chan, hurry and fire up the stove," Usagi said as she ran inside, grabbing Minako and Ami in the process.

Rei rolled her eyes and sighed. Grandpa was a heavy sleeper but she didn't want to cost him his rest.

'First sign of a noise complaint and they're out,' she promised herself.

She then turned to Goten, narrowing her eyes at him for wearing such a goofy smile.

"You best behave yourself," she warned in a threatening tone.

These were her friends and she would not tolerate having some pervert push his luck with any of them.

Goten looked at her nervously. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said while walking towards the door, before turning back to her. "So, what's for dinner? Are you still cooking for me?" Goten asked naughtily.

Rei fumed. How dare he play coy with her!

Makoto looked confused. "What is he talking about, Rei?"

"He won a bet. So I have to cook him dinner," she replied after taking a deep, calming breath.

Makoto's jaw hung agape once more. "Wait, he won a bet against you?" She asked incredulously as she eyed Goten in disbelief. That was not an easy achievement.

Goten just grinned in response.

Rei audibly growled. 'Idiot… Pervert. Moron. Pig,' she cursed inwardly.

Makoto looked at the spikey-haired man in something akin to respect. "How did you manage that?" She asked, walking up to him, leaving Rei to stand outside by herself.

"Oh, I just got lucky," Goten answered, trying to keep it vague in hopes of not having any more questions asked on the matter.

Rei slowly walked inside to follow them, steam coming out of her ears. The sooner she could fix his blasted victory dinner, the sooner she could forget about her crushing defeat.

* * *

Goten frowned as he found himself seated in between the two blondes as the blue-haired girl sat across from him. All three young women were staring at him intently. He'd been dreaming about being surrounded by women since before he could remember, but this was ridiculous! The blue-haired girl— Ami was her name— kept using ridiculously long words. Some he recognized only because of Trunks, but the others words just went over his head. The blonde with the buns on top of her head kept getting this dreamy look in her eyes every time the other blonde came up with a theory of why he was there.

He sighed. 'Maybe Trunks was right; being around so many girls at the same time really isn't as great as it sounded.'

Goten had explained and told them how he'd met Rei and come to live there. He blushed as Minako kept coming up with theories of her own. After the twentieth time of denying her claims, Goten thought he was gonna lose his mind.

Usagi sighed wistfully. "I wish a guy would save me like that. That's sooo cool."

"Maybe Rei was going to repay him for saving her and her grandfather's life," Minako whispered among the girls with a wink.

Usagi blushed a little at Minako's statement. "Do you really think he's Rei's type?"

"Oh come on; he's tall, well-built, and he's got a full head of hair. Sure, he's not a real pretty boy but I see Rei going for the rugged type. It's probably a power thing for her." Minako nodded as she reasoned with the possibility.

Ami blushed. "When you say Rei-chan was going to 'repay him', y-you don't mean..." She whispered.

"Well of course, Ami-chan! Rei owes him her life, it only makes sense she pays him back with her body," Minako whispered back, snickering deviously.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rei was in the kitchen doing a mountain of dishes. She still couldn't believe how much the guy ate! He was twice as bad as Usagi, and that was really saying something.

"Next time, he's on dish duty. It's only fair if I have to be cooking so much," she grumbled as she scrubbed plates in the sudsy sink water.

Makoto sighed as she helped dry the plates and put them away in the cupboard. Rei really wasn't kidding about his appetite. "Yeah… So, how'd you two meet?" She asked.

Rei suddenly stopped scrubbing and dropped the plate; it sank into the water and hit the bottom. "He...saved my life," she said, glancing at the water, looking bothered and upset. "Remember when we were up at the mountain and I came back from swimming?" Rei asked the tall brunette after a pause.

* * *

Goten blinked again at the three girls while blushing a little. They were aware that he could hear them right? Wait, was he just considered the  _rugged type_?

Usagi sighed dreamily for the umpteenth time. "I want a tall, well-built, head full of hair guy," she mumbled before turning to Goten and saying, "Hey, since you saved Rei; you should take her on a horse and carriage ride in the park!"

Goten blinked. Okay, so now Usagi seemed to be on par with Minako in the delusional department. "Um, no…I just asked her if I could work and stay here for repayment. Her grandfather approved, and well, here I am!" He repeated the abridged version of what he had been telling them for the past hour and a half.

"Maybe Rei was telling the truth," Ami whispered among the girls. After all, if you asked the same question countless times only to be supplied with the same answer, common knowledge dictated that the answer was the truth.

Minako pouted. "Well that's no fun. And here I thought Rei had finally found her perfect match!" She whined.

Goten laughed nervously as he heard the comment Minako made. These girls were really invested in Rei's love life.

Usagi frowned slightly. "Aw, I think he'd be good for Rei!"

"I do, too! See, Ami! I'm not the only one!" Minako grinned triumphantly.

Goten blushed bashfully. "Uh...I'm not sure if that will ever happen. I highly doubt Rei wants a relationship."

Usagi rolled her eyes. "Please, and I'm going to be smarter than Ami someday.  _That's_ never going to happen," Usagi said with finality. As far as she was concerned, Goten needed to keep his chin up if he hoped to win Rei over. "Anything is possible, Goten-kun…except what I said about being smarter than Ami! You just have to have faith."

The girls were all used to Rei being vocal about her lack of interest over men but they all just knew it; Goten was definitely something special. It was more than just Rei's secrecy. It was like their women's intuition had somehow all merged together into a giant robot and signaled that he was the one for their hotheaded Rei.

"So, Goten. You're single, right?" Minako grinned.

Goten gulped. "Uh, well yes…why?" He asked hesitantly.

Usagi and Minako both grinned at him shamelessly.

"Oh come on, it's not like you haven't noticed how pretty Rei is. I mean, even cops eye her up! I know; I've seen them. ...Bastards." Minako clenched her fists bitterly, recalling the gawking police officers whenever Rei would walk by. "But yeah I'm sure you'd enjoy having Rei keep you company." She smiled, turning back to him.

Goten looked at the blonde thoughtfully. Truthfully, Rei was the most attractive girl he'd ever seen. But at the same time, he didn't want to screw things up with her. He really had a knack for that.

"Rei's very pretty, but it might be better off if we remain friends," he said honestly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Usagi eyed him for a minute. "I don't understand. You said you think she's pretty. You like her and according to what I've seen on my novella, she likes you. So what's the problem? I think you should ask her out. What do you girls think?"

"I wholeheartedly agree!" Minako said with her fist up.

"Are you a homosexual?" Ami asked awkwardly. "Not that there's anything wrong with that," she added.

Minako tipped over. "Ami…!" She whined.

"What? No. I'm not gay!" Goten exclaimed, face as red as a tomato. "It's just that…well, Rei seems like a very nice girl, but I wouldn't want anything to interfere with our work relationship," Goten finished, looking at the floor.

Usagi smiled softly at him. "Goten, it's obvious you like Rei, just ask her. Besides, we know you won't hurt her."

Goten glanced at her in confusion. "How can you be so sure?"

Usagi grinned devilishly. "Because if you  _did_ hurt her, we'd kill you before she even had a chance to."

Goten gulped.

"Yep, dead in the gutter is where you'll be," Minako laughed.

Ami shook her head. "We wouldn't really kill you. They're exaggerating," she said dismissively.

Goten laughed nervously, inwardly relieved. That meant he only had Rei and Makoto to worry about…

Usagi pouted. "You ruined it, Ami." She then faced Goten, "Hey, I know! How about if you ask Rei out, I'll come along just to make it even less awkward! I'm pretty good at keeping moments from being awkward! At least when I'm not the cause of them," Usagi finished laughing to herself.

"Usagi-chan, its best you stay out of it," Ami said, a bead of sweat rolling down her forehead. She knew Rei wouldn't like Usagi bothering her.

"Ami's got a point. You don't want to be a third wheel, do you?" Minako added.

Usagi pouted. "I was only trying to help."

"I know what we can do. We could arrange the perfect date for Goten to win Rei over with! It'll totally send her love points through the roof," Minako proposed.

"Maybe you two should give it a rest. Relationships are supposed to be something that takes time to develop," Ami stated in a matter of fact tone.

Usagi waved her had dismissively. "Nonsense Ami, we're just helping destiny along. Besides, Mina is very well-versed in all things having to do with love, right Minako-chan?"

Goten, on the other hand, was looking pensively at the three women. Ami had a point, and so did Minako. Usagi even had a point, no matter how warped her thinking was. Maybe he should take a chance, but not before consulting his best friend. There was no one he'd trust more with such a big decision.

'I'm sure telling Trunks that I had 3 women fawning over me will put him in a much better mood,' he thought, inwardly cackling.

"Of course I am," Minako boasted.

"Yet you haven't considered how Rei would take a sudden advance on her affections?" Ami cocked a brow.

Minako slumped. "Dammit, Ami..." She frowned.

Goten was brought out of his musings when Ami spoke. He gave her a soft smile before looking at the two blondes who were looking defeated at the moment.

"Hey, cheer up," Goten said. "Aren't sleepovers supposed to be fun? At least, they were fun when my best friend and I would have them. Maybe girls are different when it comes to sleepovers," he thought out loud.

"Oh they  _are_  fun. Say! Goten, have you ever had a girlfriend before?" Minako grinned.

Ami sighed and shook her head. She felt like banging her head against the wall.

Goten nodded. "Yeah, but it didn't work out," he said, looking down. Goten had only dated three girls but they'd never gotten too serious; his mother had made sure of that. Usually they'd break it off with him before that happened. "The last girlfriend I had said she'd met someone else." He looked melancholy.

"That's so sad," Minako said, pulling out a tissue to wipe her tear.

Usagi looked at him sadly. "Aw, I'm sorry, Goten. You didn't deserve to be cheated on, and that girl most definitely did not deserve you."

"As they say to the heartbroken: Whenever you're lonely, love's right around the corner!" Minako smiled proudly as she spoke proverbially.

"That's what they say to men looking for prostitutes..." Ami placed her palm on her face in secondhand embarrassment.

Usagi glanced at Goten. "I think what Minako-chan means is… just because you think that you're unlucky in love doesn't mean you should give up. Maybe those past relationships just weren't meant to be and this one is," Usagi said wisely.

Goten blinked. "Wow, that's deep."

Usagi smiled. "Yeah, I know. I heard it this morning on the novella!"

"Usagi-chan, you've really been studying," Minako said conceitedly.

Ami sighed; if only Usagi's passion for daytime television could be directed to her studies. Her grades would be phenomenal.

Usagi grinned at her friends confidently. "Yeah, it's interesting stuff. Today's episode was really good! One of the characters found their long lost love. He never gave up on her. It was so romantic!" Usagi said, getting that dreamy look in her eyes again.

Goten was suddenly hit with a feeling of déjà vu. He remembered having that feeling, but he couldn't remember with whom.

'Hmm, weird,' he thought to himself, remembering the little girl in his sleep when he'd first woke up in the shrine. 'Was it just a dream?'

Was it possible he had found his love once, but perhaps lost it somehow? But he would remember her if it was love...wouldn't he?

"I missed that episode," Minako whined.

Goten listened intently as the blonde went more in-depth.

"Yeah, it was crazy. Apparently George and Ramona knew each other when they were teens because their parents were really good friends and shared a beach house. When they were there, they both made a promise to never forget each other and to always be there for each other. Well, Ramona had an accident and never returns to the beach house. George was heartbroken, and vowed to never give up looking for her since they lived on opposite sides of their country. Once he was an adult, he spent all his days looking for Ramona and he finally found her," The blonde said with a smile.

Goten eyed the blonde. For some reason, he felt that this story sounded very familiar. Intrigued, he asked, "Well, what happened to them once they found each other?"

Usagi shrugged. "That's tomorrow's episode. The scenes then switched to Geri and Raymond, who are always arguing and their friends claimed there was something between them, but they denied it. Then they ended up in bed together."

* * *

Makoto stared at Rei with incredulity as she told her the whole story of what had happened at the mountain district. "Wow, talk about timing, Rei! If he hadn't had been there, we wouldn't have even known…" She frowned.

Makoto had known there was more to what happened up there, especially when Rei came back running with a loose top and a bunch of fresh, bloody cuts. She had all the girls downright scared to ever go back there again.

"Yeah…" Rei exhaled while massaging her temples.

"So, wait, you're not dating him because he saw your chest?" Makoto inquired.

"No! Well, yes! I mean, I wouldn't date him anyway!" Rei stammered while blushing in a mix of anger and discomfiture.

Makoto chuckled. "It's all right, Rei-chan. Maybe he didn't do it on purpose, but that is a really embarrassing thing to have happen." Makoto scratched her cheek, speaking from experience.

Rei huffed; she did have a point. Maybe Makoto was right and she was overreacting over that. "Well, just last week, on his first day at work, I caught the bastard in my room," she stated.

"Doing what? He didn't go through your underwear, did he!?" Makoto asked, angrily twitching while cracking her knuckles. As a girl who lived by herself, Makoto had her share of run-ins with a panty thief or two. Thank God for her black belt in judo.

"No, at least I think not…" Rei answered, pondering on it. She didn't recall finding her underwear drawer out of place.

"Then what was he doing when you saw him?" The taller brunette asked.

Rei closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "He was holding my mother's photograph," she said while looking at the floor harshly.

There was a silence that took over the kitchen and Makoto looked at her friend in understanding before placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Out of the other girls, nobody understood the pain from the loss of a parent more than Makoto. Through the years they'd grown close enough to confide in each other about it. She was well aware how precious Rei's photographs of her mother were to the miko. "Did he know?" She asked softly.

Rei merely shook her head. "He hasn't asked any questions either," she murmured, feeling quite thankful he hadn't.

"Good. Guess he might not be half as dumb as you say he is." Makoto cracked a small smile and Rei returned it. "Say, how's Grandpa been doing with his treatment?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, don't get me started on that old coot. Have you ever tried to give my grandfather medicine? He puts up a fight! Look." Rei rolled up her sleeve to reveal bite marks on the skin of her forearm.

Grandpa wasn't a fan of pills and Western medicine. He still lived in the old days of mixing herbs, drinking tea, and leech treatments.

"I always knew gramps was a fighter," Makoto said before giggling.

"He's terrible, worse than a little kid." Rei shook her head. "I'm usually so exhausted afterwards. He squirms so much and it's hard holding him down." She sighed.

"Yeah, I guess that's what happens when you're stuck in your ways for so long." Makoto ran a hand through her bangs.

"He's still stuck in the feudal era." Rei rolled her eyes.

Makoto grinned. "Maybe you should have Goten be on medicine duty from now on?"

"Nah, he doesn't know how conniving Grandpa can be; I do. But that is a nice thought," Rei jested before drying the last dish. "That does it," she said and placed it on the clean pile. "Let's go check on the girls."

Rei led her friend towards her bedroom. 'Hopefully Goten has behaved himself,' she thought.

"Hey, Rei! Hey, Makoto!" Minako greeted her friends when they stepped in through the open door.

Goten turned around and smiled kindly at both women, mostly at Rei. Rei flinched; something about that smile set her off deeply. It wasn't his goofy grin or him being smug. He actually looked sincere. As if he was genuinely happy she could be there.

Makoto sat in between Usagi and Minako, leaving the only empty seat next to Goten; she then smiled at everyone. "So, what were you guys talking about?" The warrior of lightning asked.

Rei furrowed her brow at her friend and quietly took her seat. If she called her out on it, she'd only draw attention to the fact that sitting next to Goten got a reaction out of her.

"We were just getting to know Goten a little more," Minako giggled.

"Why am I not surprised?" Rei asked rhetorically.

Usagi nodded. "Goten's really nice. I think he's a really good person. It must be really cool to have him around, huh?"

"I guess he's not useless to have around after all." Rei shrugged with a teasing smile.

Goten gave an annoyed pout in response, making Rei's friends laugh. Though inside, Goten couldn't help but feel a wave of bliss to see Rei smile at him for the first time. Maybe Usagi was right. Hopefully, they'd be able to get closer one day.

Usagi smiled. "Actually, I was just telling everyone about today's novella. It was so good!" She said.

Usagi then filled Rei in on what had conspired on the previous episode. Rei heard Usagi speak and inwardly felt some sort of click, the same one she'd felt up on the mountain. Just what were these feelings of déjà vu or…was it nostalgia?

**AN: You guys have no idea how much of a blast it was for me to write this chapter. Speaking of which, sorry if the title for this one seemed misleading. I really meant it when I said the development was gonna be a slow one.**

**Honorable mention: I had some help from my dear friend Serena4ever2006 when it came to the inners reactions. Don't worry, this won't be the last of them in this story. We'll be seeing more of them later. And oh boy are they going to meddle!**

**As you can see Goten got a fitting punishment for his snooping, much worse than a mere beat down. (I'm making it a point for Rei to ease up on the violence when she comes to realize he's really not a threat to her.) Anyone that had to live off ramen for a week would agree and even sympathize. Let's just hope he learned his lesson.**

**Thanks to all my readers and reviewers for all the support! It makes me very happy. :D**


	6. Charmer

**Chapter 6: Charmer**

Rei woke up feeling more at ease, finally being able to meditate in the morning like normal. Yesterday the girls went back home by early afternoon as they all had things to sort out for back to school season. To her gladness, Grandpa had looked like he had gotten much better. She couldn't put into words with how relieved she was to not hear him coughing anymore. Apparently that sleepover with the girls did her some good to her mood as well. She had found herself much more tolerant around Goten's presence. After all, why get so riled up over such a blockhead?

"Whoa..!" A sudden crash was heard at the house and Rei dropped her broomstick to run back to the source of the sound. Goten winced as he got up and paled at the demolished rice paper doors that divided his room and Rei's.

"She's gonna kill me." He held his head in panic.

"What happened-" Rei gasped as she caught sight of the wreckage.

"I-It was an accident, I swear! I just-I got up and I tripped and… I'm real sorry, Rei." His lower lip quivered as he lowered his head, looking like a guilty dog ready to be scolded by its master.

Rei clenched her fists as she felt the rage level shoot up to her forehead, her skin flushing bright red. Suddenly, she caught sight of the remorseful expression on his face while he looked upon his mess and paused. She'd never seen him look so upset. She somehow found the will to mentally count to ten as her pent up boiling wrath came to a simmer. She placed a hand to cover her face and took a deep breath before exhaling.

Goten blinked, wondering what was taking so long for her to yell at him or hit him. He thought he'd be toast by now! He timidly glanced up to see her covering her face with her hand in order to compose herself. He didn't dare to say anything else until she had spoken first, fearing he'd provoke her. So he sat there quietly, waiting anxiously.

"I-" She began, taking in another deep breath. "I am going to make myself some tea and then get started on breakfast." She said and held up her hands in the air, signifying this was literally all out of her hands. "You clean this up. And when I come back, there better be something dividing, covering…just keeping our rooms separated! You got that?" She massaged her temples, hoping she was getting her point across on what she wanted from him.

Goten gave a brief nod in understanding before she stormed off. He sat there for a moment and blinked. "Did she just cut me some slack?" He wondered out loud.

When he came out of his shock he began to clean up the mess of torn rice paper and broken wood from the door frames. These doors really were flimsy. He'd have to watch it and not try to do so much as sneeze too hard or else he'll bring the whole house down. Like the big bad wolf with the pig's twig house.

He looked up and bit his lip when Rei's room was fully exposed. Sure, he had seen it well enough before during the sleepover, but now it seemed so intimate without the other girls there. His mind drifted into wayward fantasies of them carrying on living with the doors down like this. He could just be like a fly on the wall. Rei would walk in oblivious to his presence and begin to slowly undress like she did every night. A blush crept on his cheeks and the tips of his ears as he swallowed hard. He never looked directly at Rei through the doors when that happened. He was too scared of getting caught and the worry of getting caught overrode the temptation to peep. Nevertheless, he couldn't do that. But listening to the sound of her slipping out of her clothes and hearing them drop sent his mind on frenzy every time.

'Rei's right. I totally am a pervert.' He thought while sighing gloomily.

Hopefully he'll hear back from Trunks soon. He needed someone to talk to and help figure out what to do with all of these raging hormones.

The mess was cleaned up and the rooms were now divided by a clothesline holding up a long bed sheet to act as a curtain. It was simple but it'd have to do. He couldn't really make her new doors from scratch, much less pay for new ones. He groaned at the idea of her charging him for the damages. He didn't have much money on him anyway.

He cautiously approached the brunette in the kitchen while she was setting the table for breakfast. "It's done, Rei." He said quietly.

Rei turned to look at him as she set the third plate down. Goten felt a flicker of hope that Rei wasn't going to go back to tossing ramen noodle cups at him for what he did.

"All right, let's have a look." She said while taking a deep breath.

Goten gulped and led the way back to the room, praying she'd be pleased with what little he could do.

Rei studied the clothesline dividing the room intently. The sheet didn't seem too sheer so it was no different than the doors they had. The pins looked like they'd hold unless someone roughly pulled the sheet off by force. She'd need not worry of it slipping off without warning then. "I guess it'll do." She said confirming her approval.

Goten audibly exhaled happily in relief, a big smile tugging at his lips.

"Hold on a second." Rei spoke up, making him stiffen.

The miko walked over to the makeshift curtain and held her hand over her head to see where her height range was. It was a good few inches over her head. "Come here." She ordered him.

Goten blinked yet obliged, standing next to her. Rei casted her hand over the top of the line and moved it horizontally to measure when it stopped right in front of Goten's eyes.

"It's at your eye level." She stated.

Goten fidgeted and felt like he was going to start sweating. "Is that a problem?"

"Can you see over this curtain, into my room?" She asked.

Goten checked and then stood on his toes to compare. "Barely but I can see better standing on my toes like this. Why?"

"It just means you're going to have to crouch whenever I'm in there changing. And I can tell when you're not. That hair of yours sticks out from the top like a shark's dorsal fin in water." She said with her hands assertively on her hips.

Goten chuckled. "I guess I'll have to hum the theme from Jaws whenever I come in my room then."

"Please don't." Rei covered her eyes with her hand.

"Ba-bum, ba-bum…" Goten started, grinning while trailing across the curtain like the underwater predator.

"Goten," Rei's lips twitched as she looked up at him, trying desperately to hide the spark of amusement on her features.

"Ba-dum, ba-dum…" He continued humming.

"Goten, stop," She said, trying to muster some annoyance in her tone. Her lips curled upwards briefly before they pressed in a pout.

Goten stopped and glanced at her with a grin. "Was that a smile?"

"No." She balked under his gaze, trying not to falter.

"I think it was." His grin grew wider upon spotting the chink in the shrine maiden's armor.

"Was not, conceited." She crossed her arms and turned her back to him.

"Guess I'll have to keep digging for that sense of humor then." Goten mused with a hand behind his head.

"Just get ready for work." Rei grumbled before leaving the room.

Goten balled his fists while glancing up in determination. 'This is great. If I keep this up, maybe she'll warm up to me.'

* * *

After breakfast Goten was ecstatic to find Grandpa Hino being so lively around the shrine. He sure was a people person! He'd strike up a conversation with anyone and wasn't ashamed to tell people they were good looking, regardless of gender. He sort of reminded him of Master Roshi with the way he hit on women. It suddenly made sense why Rei was so wary of him being a lecher when they first met, having to live with someone like her nutty grandfather.

"He better not chase any customers off." Rei grumbled to herself in the charm stand while resting her chin on her palm.

"I didn't think Grandpa would be this much fun." Goten snickered.

"Don't you have things to clean?" Rei narrowed her eyes at him.

"Touchy." Goten said and playfully stuck out his tongue at her, grinning when he made her fume.

Rei crossed her arms and turned her head away from him in a huff. He was getting way too fresh with her. He better count his lucky stars she hadn't mentioned there wasn't much need for him around now that Grandpa was better and there's been no recent threat from the Typhoon Gang. He'd be right out the front door. She then regretted ever thinking that. Where would he even go? He said he had a hard time finding a job. She believed him without any doubt, his short attention span was quite troublesome. Not many hirers would take a chance with a guy like him. The guy still did good work regardless. He just needed a firm kick in the right direction, sometimes literally. The raven-haired girl shook her head to clear her thoughts. Why should she let herself get so concerned about that idiot's future anyway?

"Hey, Grandpa…could I talk to you for a second?" Goten asked.

"What do you need, son?" Grandpa asked cheerily.

"I was wondering if you could give me some pointers on how to talk to girls." The teen sheepishly scratched his cheek.

Grandpa burst out laughing. "Now I don't think you'd need any help with that seeing as you had all of Rei's pretty friends fawn over you the other night." He said with a wiggle of his gray eyebrows.

Goten blushed. "Well…" He did have a point. It was pretty easy to act friendly with women, but he needed something that could come in handy in the romantic playing field. He usually made a fool of himself when it came to trying to pick up women.

"Well what? You're a strapping young lad. If you have your eyes on a special lady, don't hesitate to woo her!"

"I don't know…I'm not pretty good at  _wooing_." The teen responded timidly, running a hand through his wild mane.

The priest then looked at him seriously for a moment as if to ponder on what to do. He then smiled. "All you need is practice."

He stared blankly at his elder while the old man motioned for him to look around. "Plenty of lovely ladies come here all the time. Go ahead and talk to them. I'll be right back."

Goten nodded as his landlord scurried away inside and took a deep breath. It shouldn't be too hard. All he had to do was pick one.

"Oh shoot!" The voice of an older woman could be heard near the entrance as she was knelt on the floor picking some things up. The contents of her fanny pack spilt out on the floor. The wind seemed to be blowing some of her things away from her, important things. The way she desperately reached out for them gave it away. Goten dashed over to help her pick them up before the wind would carry them off.

"Here, let me help." He said and picked up some old Polaroid photographs.

"Oh bless your heart." The woman spoke with gratitude. "I should've fastened the belt tighter before jogging up these steps. But I guess it's a good sign I lost weight if it slid right off of me."

Goten looked at the pictures and back at the woman in front of him. The stranger looked like she was in her mid-60s, streaks of gray in her wavy light brown hair giving away her age. If it weren't for that he would have estimated her much younger. He looked down at the photos and saw a woman in her 20s in marathon clothes and swimsuits. Her face looked very similar to that of the woman crouched before him.

"I don't mean to pry, but is this you?" He asked while handing her the photos he picked up off the ground.

"I figured carrying these around will help keep me motivated. Wasn't I a dish?" The woman jested.

"Well, I wouldn't know about that. But you sure were a foxy lady." Goten laughed as he scratched his head, not quite understanding her use of the word 'dish'. She was certainly an odd one, spunky too. It sure reminded him of somebody he knew.

"My, aren't you a charming young man!" She chortled. "You kind of remind me of my late husband."

Goten's interest was suddenly reeled in. So she was a widow?

"Oh, I'm sorry about your loss." He said sincerely.

The widow shook her head. "Don't be, I'm past that."

"My name's Goten." He introduced himself when they were back on their feet with a small smile.

"Pleased to meet you, Goten. You can call me Nana." She smiled and shook his hand.

"Well Nana, would you like some water? I'm sure jogging up all those steps worked up a thirst." He grinned while inwardly plotting. It seems the girls at the sleepover had gotten to him.

"Oh, you are so sweet. I'd love some." Nana said looking very flattered.

"I'll be right back then." Goten said and hurried to fetch a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Where are you going? You still have stuff to restock." Rei nagged while leaning out of the charm stand to watch him come back with some water.

"In a minute, Rei," He boldly dismissed her command to look around for the kooky old man that ran the place. "Hey Grandpa, there's someone I want you to meet!" He called out into the shrine.

"Is it a woman?" Grandpa asked eagerly.

"Single too." Goten nodded.

Grandpa was immediately at his side and followed him out to where Nana was. Goten tried to contain his laughter when Grandpa got hearts in his eyes. "Nana, this is Grandpa Hino. Grandpa, this is Nana." He said, presenting the two after handing Nana the bottle of water.

Grandpa kissed her free hand. "I'm honored to be in the presence of such a dish."

Nana burst out giggling in delight. "Oh my..!"

Goten's work here was done as he cracked a satisfied smile. "I'll leave you two alone." He said before walking away, giving them their space.

"So you were setting Grandpa up?" Rei crossed her arms.

"Yup," Goten muttered.

"Unbelievable." Rei shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Aw, come on. Gramps could use some fun. Besides, don't they look cute together?" He grinned and pointed at the couple looking like they were having quite an animated conversation.

Rei couldn't help but look on at the exchange the two were having. They sure looked like they had chemistry.

Goten bit his lip and slid closer, at least close enough for the stand between them could allow. "You know, Rei. I think you're one mighty fine dish." He said, letting the line hang in the air.

Rei froze and turned to him with a raised brow. "Seriously, Goten?"

Goten's lips fell into a frown. "Uh…"

"I know Grandpa's material is corny and ridiculous but you're going to have to try harder in order to make me laugh." Rei rolled her eyes.

"Ha, right. I was totally joking around." He said to save face while smiling nervously. If she found out that was an actual attempt to hit on her he'd die of humiliation.

"Here he comes." Rei said as the old man ran towards them.

Grandpa went up to give Goten a bear hug. "You, my boy, are the best wingman I've ever had!"

"Aw, shucks. You're making me blush, Gramps. But please, do go on." Goten said, feigning modesty.

"I got myself a date tonight! I better get ready." The priest said when he let go and skipped into the house.

Rei stared at her guardian's retreating form in wonder. "He hasn't been on an actual date in six years…"

Goten puffed out his chest triumphantly. "Guess I'm that good."

"Sure is nice of you to be so humble about it, blockhead." Rei teased.

He merely stuck out his tongue in response.

"Whatever, you want a snack after your finished restocking?" She asked.

"Would I?!" Goten beamed. Rei never offered him a snack before!

"Well, I'll be cooking slightly less tonight anyway." The miko shrugged. She may have not looked it but she was very excited that Grandpa had gotten himself a lady friend. He looked so happy and it was all thanks to Goten.

Yards away near the steps, a hooded man was talking into a cellphone. "Boss, I see the girl. But the guy, the hero guy, he's still here." He spoke into the device.

"Dammit! Well never mind the chick for now. Taking her for ransom can wait, I've got bigger plans. And when we finally have her, the payoff will be all worth it." The voice of his leader replied. "The Hinos haven't heard the last of the Typhoon Gang."

**AN: That's right, there be trouble ahead. (How far up ahead? That's for me to know! Muahahaha!) Just what could those hooligans have in store for our star couple? Hopefully Goten will handle it smoother than he did with that pick up line, that awkward dork.**

**I want to give another quick thank you to all my faithful readers and reviewers. I'm so happy you're enjoying the story so far! Also I'm very sorry this took so long to publish again! Megakat has found herself with more than enough on her plate to beta for me at the moment. Be sure to show her some love by giving her stories a read. Reviews always make her feel better. Same goes for SeleneAnadyomene! Forgive me if these chapters aren't as pretty as the first ones without someone to beta them.**


	7. Got Your Back

**Chapter 7: Got Your Back**

Goten sat still in Rei's place at the charm stand since the priestess was getting ready for her first day back at school. Rei stepped out in her TA Girls School uniform with her bag in hand. Grandpa followed behind her, looking frantic.

"Now don't forget to be careful walking to school, Rei." Grandpa warned.

"Don't worry, Grandpa. I can handle myself just fine." Rei said dismissively before giving him a kiss goodbye. She turned to look at Goten and pointed at him in warning. "You better do a good job holding the fort."

"Aye, Captain" Goten saluted her in response, withholding the urge to jokingly ask for a kiss goodbye too. But it looks like the only thing she'd ever let him kiss is her shoe when she kicks him in the face. "Have a good first day of school, Rei." He smiled and waved.

Rei gave a wave back for the sake of being polite. Having him bid her farewell and greet her in the afternoons was going to be pretty awkward. Especially considering how heartfelt he was about it. There was something about that which made her wary, him acting like he cared about how her day went. She quietly began to go down the steps by herself, then taking her usual route.

"Something wrong, Gramps?" Goten asked as he watched the old man bite his nails.

During breakfast, Grandpa had told them about the shootings that occurred the night before. Apparently the Typhoon Gang wasn't going anywhere and was still trying to stir up trouble. Fortunately, no one was harmed. It was mostly a scare tactic to boost their reputation.

"They said it happened on the way to Rei's school." He frowned, having left that detail out when he told them.

"Well, I'm sure they're not stupid enough to try that again during the day. Besides, Rei's a sharp girl with a tough kick. She'll be fine." Goten tried to ease the old man's worries.

"As long as those ruffians are still out there, I can't take any risks with my only granddaughter." Grandpa shook his head. "Especially after their threats..!"

Goten blinked in confusion. "Threats, what do you mean threats?" He asked and leaned in over the counter.

"The day you appeared those hooligans threatened to harm Rei or take her for ransom unless I cooperated." He said with great disdain.

"Those slimy bastards," Goten growled and clenched his fists. How low of them to threaten Rei's safety in order to terrorize the old man! They'd be beaten to a bloody pulp before they could even try to act on it. Obligation or not, Goten would protect the Hino family regardless.

The priest nodded in response. "That's why I need you, son. I can't have them swarming her like they did me. Rei's a pistol but she's still just one girl." He said sadly.

"You don't need to fret, Gramps. I'll look after her." Goten beamed confidently.

"Why don't you get a move on then?" Grandpa motioned for him to leave the stand.

"Uh, where to..?" Goten blinked in confusion.

"Following Rei to her school, I don't want you to let her out of your sight until she's back home safe!" The old man instructed.

"Right," Goten said and paused. "What about the shrine?"

"I've been working here long before you were born. I can manage alone for a couple of hours." Grandpa grinned. "Now, hurry if you want to keep up with her."

Goten dashed off, waving from behind. "Okay! Bye, Grandpa."

Goten darted off the first few steps and looked to the sides to see if anyone was around. Seeing nobody watching he glided off the rest of the steps before touching down on the sidewalk. He spotted Rei's long flowing hair down the street and shadowed her. He decided to be sneaky and try not to alert her that he was around. After all, he should be working at the shrine as far as she was concerned. He certainly didn't want to get nagged by her over that. She probably wouldn't be too fond of him tagging alongside her either.

'Stealth mode, activate!' He thought and began hiding behind things while he'd move to keep up with her.

Rei waited at a crosswalk red light patiently, unaware of two police officers staring at her intently from behind. Goten narrowed his eyes at them. They could be criminals in disguise with the way they were leering at her. He slowly stepped out of hiding with his hand balled as a fist, ready to pounce. When the light turned green, Rei walked across the street and the men stayed behind.

"Did you see the legs on her?" One of the cops nudged the other.

"Hot damn," The other laughed.

Goten slumped from his fighting stance. So they weren't looking to kidnap her at all. They were merely lechers that were checking her out. Well in that case he couldn't go on and punch them out, even if he still wanted to. This must be what Minako must have been talking about.

He continued pursuing his target while staying out of her sight. He couldn't help but glance at her legs more after those cops brought them to his attention. They weren't kidding about them at all. In fact, she did look stunning in her school uniform. It was pretty hard to tear his eyes away from her when she came out of the house earlier. The teen then wondered if he'd get to see Rei in shorts or more skirts like this. He mentally slapped himself in order to stay focused.

'Bad thoughts…Bad,' He thought to himself while trying to clear his mind.

Rei entered the gates of the school grounds and Goten came out from behind the mailbox he was crouching behind. "It looks like she's in the clear now." He mumbled to himself.

He then remembered Grandpa's exact words. ' _Don't let her out of your sight until she's back home safe.'_ Goten knew Grandpa may have been overreacting but the fact that there were threats made him feel overprotective of Rei. As her grandfather said, she was still just one girl. Tough kick or not, she wasn't as fast or strong as he was. It was probably best if he stuck around campus just to be sure there wasn't any danger lurking around. He glanced at the sign with the school name engraved on it, TA Academy for Girls. It looked like he couldn't just walk around a girl's school and not be noticed. He'd have to be his sneakiest for this little reconnaissance mission.

* * *

Rei felt eyes on her since she reached school but couldn't place who it could be, or if it was friend or foe. The paranoia almost slipped through the cracks of the usual pleasant façade she'd wear to school. At school she was the model student, a prim and proper lady. She greeted everyone and handled everything with poise and grace. But that wasn't who she really was, only her friends knew the real her. Goten also had the privilege of seeing her true colors as well. Here in school is where she'd play pretend, be the ideal upper-class young woman society expects her to be. As much as she hated it, this saved her plenty of trouble with the nuns over the years.

First period Literature class began and her amethyst eyes rested on her book. She already had gotten ahead of her reading because of Goten lightening up her work load. She then reminded herself to order take out for dinner since she forgot to move the meats from the freezer to the fridge this morning. Lucky for her, Goten wasn't a picky eater. Food was food, and he would gobble it right up. She remembered the dopey look on his face whenever he noticed there was food left on her plate that she wasn't eating. A little stream of drool would roll down his chin and his pleading eyes made him look identical to a begging dog. She felt a smile tug at her lips but caught herself and shook her head to clear her mind. She should be focusing on her studies, not thinking about that goofball!

She felt eyes on her once more and slowly glanced out the window and froze in shock as a certain dopey face stared back.

Goten's eyes widened as he scrambled to hide behind the tree trunk, removing the bird nest off of his head. 'Crap, she spotted me!' He thought.

"Miss Hino!" The nun raised her voice and brought down her thick ruler on the desk with a loud smack.

Rei's head snapped back toward her educator with a startled look on her face.

"It's very unlike you to be daydreaming in class. If it happens again, you'll get detention." She warned. "Do I make myself clear?"

Rei bowed her head. "Yes, Sister Angela."

Under the desk her hands clutched the fabric of her skirt. What was that moron doing spying on her at school?! He was going to get an earful for getting her in trouble in the middle of class.

When the lunch bell sounded Rei entered the cafeteria while scanning the room for anything suspicious. Nothing was out of the ordinary, aside from an open window. Rei got her tray of food and decided to take a seat at a table alone.

"Ms. Rei, would you like to sit with us?" A classmate called out her attention from a nearby table with only one seat available.

"No thank you, I'd rather escape the glare from the windows." Rei politely declined.

Rei began to slowly eat her food and wondered if she really saw Goten earlier or was she starting to see things. She paused while sipping her water when she noticed her crescent roll was missing from her plate. She placed her water down and leaned forward, blinking in surprise. She was sure she had one. And nobody had walked by her table to take it.

A familiar and masculine looking hand reached up from under the tablecloth and felt around for any morsels left on her plate. Rei jolted back and flailed as she felt her chair rock backwards with her, about to tip over. Said hand's twin grabbed onto the chair's leg and caught her in time before tugging forward, bringing her and her chair back into place. An exhale of relief escaped her lips now that she wasn't falling anymore. She lifted the tablecloth and bent down to look, coal black eyes stared right back at her.

"Hi, Rei…" Goten grinned nervously.

"I swear, Goten. You better have a good reason for being here before I call security and get you arrested!" She hissed.

"No, don't!" He pleaded with those eyes again. "I was only trying to-"

"Miss Hino!" Sister Angela shouted.

Rei hit her head under the table from jerking upwards and sat up with a hand on her fresh bump, visibly wincing.

"That pain ought to teach you not to display such barbaric posture during meals." The nun waved her finger while scolding her.

"Yes, Sister Angela." Rei said through her teeth, trying her hardest to hide her anger.

As the teacher walked away Rei felt around for Goten under the table with her feet, unable to find him. She blinked in surprise upon realizing he wasn't there anymore. Just where could he have gone now?

Goten sighed as he was crawling away outside the building near the open cafeteria window. He just kept getting Rei into trouble. He was definitely going to get it when school was out. The shaggy-haired teen decided to stay hidden afar to avoid being spotted so easily the rest of the day. The only highlight he got after that was getting to see her run laps in her gym uniform from behind the bleachers. He desperately wished this school was coed so he could enroll, him graduating high school already be damned. He missed high school, if only for the few social circles he had made when he was there. Things were just so much simpler back then. Maybe he was being selfish. Rei clearly didn't want him around her outside of the shrine. Yet there he was, tailing her like a stray puppy. He beat himself up inwardly for becoming a nuisance when he should have just been looking out for her.

* * *

Once Rei was let out of her last period class, she was on the warpath. Without fail, Goten was standing outside the entrance gates waiting for her.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?!" She crossed her arms and scowled at him.

"I'm sorry. I won't do it again." Goten frowned and glanced at his feet.

Rei tried to keep her tough front, deep down she was caught off guard with the sudden heartfelt apology. "You won't do what again, exactly?" She asked while her lips pressed together in a pout.

"Follow you around, get you in trouble like I did, and yeah I guess I shouldn't have taken your bread either." He mumbled the last part and lifted up a roll of bread wrapped in plastic that he bought at a convenience store nearby. "Here, this is for you. I know it's not the same exact bread but it's tasty." He said gently as he took her hand and set it on her palm.

Rei's cheeks turned red from the contact and could feel her heartbeat hasten. Why was he being so damn thoughtful all of the sudden? Dammit, she should be chewing him out and tearing him a new one! It was getting hard to stay angry by the second.

A couple of underclassmen girls giggled as they walked past them, whispering among each other about how this strange young man must've been her boyfriend. Rei then growled and grabbed Goten by the collar, dragging him down the block.

"Whoa, where are we going?" Goten inquired.

"Away from my school before the nuns see and suspect you're the devil's influence or something." Rei answered hotly.

After a walk and a couple of sharp turns, the two housemates stopped in front of a book store. "I didn't think your teachers could be so strict." Goten was the first to break the silence.

"Yeah, well, they are. But we're getting off the subject. What were you doing following me? I told you specifically to stay home and watch the charm stand." Rei placed her hand on her hips, demanding an explanation.

"It was Grandpa. He wanted me to follow you and make sure those thugs didn't try anything." Goten admitted.

"And why would Grandpa want you watching me all throughout the school day?" Rei cocked a brow, clearly not convinced he was telling the truth.

"Because the shootings that happened last night, he said they happened on the way to your academy." Goten said.

Rei still didn't look satisfied with that answer. "But why follow me?"

Goten frowned. "You really don't know?"

Rei narrowed her eyes at him. "I think I'd like to find out."

"Gramps said the day those scumbags attacked him they threatened to hurt or kidnap you unless he did what they asked. So he's been really worried about you going out by yourself." The half-Saiyan explained, mentally adding he was worried too.

Rei's expression softened as she looked up at him with uncertain eyes. She was a little hurt by this new information and wondering if Goten dared to lie over something serious like this. His eyes gave no hint of untruth. "I'm going to have a talk with Grandpa when we get back." She said firmly.

Goten gave a nod in understanding. No doubt she was having trouble believing him since Grandpa kept such an important detail secret from her. Frankly, he couldn't blame her.

"Oh my god, Goten..!" A familiar female voice called out behind them. "Look girls, its Goten-kun!"

Rei and Goten's head snapped to the direction of the giddy voice and Rei groaned as she saw Usagi and her 3 other best friends hurrying towards them from across the street, all wearing the same high school uniform from a different school.

"Hi there, girls," Goten smiled at Rei's friends from before. Their uniforms explained why he hadn't seen them at TA Academy all day. They went somewhere else.

"We missed you." Usagi hugged his arm affectionately.

"Aw, shucks…really?" Goten put his free hand behind his head and laughed.

"Yeah, it's good to see you out and about." Minako beamed at the young man.

"What am I, chopped liver?" Rei grumbled and crossed her arms. Her friends sure were favoring Goten even though they only met once. Just what was it about this guy that made him everyone's golden boy?

"Don't worry you get one too." Usagi giggled and hugged the miko afterwards.

"Yeah, let's shower Rei with love!" Minako exclaimed and joined in.

"Group hug," Ami smiled and participated, then Makoto.

Goten grinned and wrapped his arms around all of them, making the girls laugh.

"Feel the love, Rei!" Usagi chirped.

"I hate all of you." Rei rolled her eyes, making the group laugh.

They all released each other from the hug and Makoto looked at the black-haired couple. "We were just on our way to Crown's. You two want to come with?"

Usagi put on her best pleading face in front of Rei. "Please..?"

Goten turned to the shrine maiden and smiled. "You're the boss, Rei." If she allowed him to go, he would. And he really wanted to go; she could see it in his eyes.

"All work and no play makes Goten a dull boy." Minako winked and nudged Rei.

Rei shot a glare at Minako before giving in. "Okay, we'll go to Crown's."

The girls cheered as they all walked together toward the café, Usagi leading the way. She was rambling on about all the games Goten should play at the Arcade before they order their milkshakes. Goten's stomach rumbled loudly as if on cue. He blushed sheepishly as the girls suggested they get him fed first.

* * *

After a frenzy of cleaning out dozens of plates of food, sundaes, and milkshakes, the gang settled for more talking since they were short on change for the arcade. Goten however made up for the lack of entertainment with regaling them with funny stories from his life.

"So Trunks's parents were out of town and he was home alone. My big brother and I decided to pay him a visit one morning. When we got there, he was still in his room sound asleep. My brother decided we should let him sleep and make ourselves cozy in the kitchen. We sit down, I'm eating my cereal and my brother is drinking his coffee. Then, out of nowhere Wannabe by the Spice Girls comes on and Trunks waltzes in his underwear singing at the top of his lungs, just jamming out. He's dancing, rocking his socks off while getting a carton of milk. And just as he's pouring it, he finally notices we're in the room and freezes. My brother and I were just too surprised to make any noise. We just sat there and stared with our jaws open. Trunks freaks out, drops the carton of milk, lets out a high-pitched scream, and runs out of the kitchen. My brother and I broke into tears from laughing." Goten recounted one of the stories of his best friend's most embarrassing moments.

The whole table erupted with laughter and giggles. Usagi was the one laughing the loudest.

"The Spice Girls, really..?" Minako wheezed and leaned on Makoto for support, not believing a guy would be so silly.

"Yes, honest to god! I didn't even know he could dance like he could either." Goten grinned. "He had these moves where he was really shaking it, a lot in the hips." He added and gave a mild demonstration.

"Stop, stop! I'm gonna pee!" Usagi cried out between cackles.

Rei covered her mouth as she laughed and then laughed a little harder at Usagi's laughter. Goten decided to stop telling jokes and wait for the women to settle down and regain their breath. The ladies were holding their sides, which were most likely sore after laughing so much in the past half hour. His eyes fell upon Rei appreciatively, feeling overwhelming glee that he could finally get her to really laugh for once. He couldn't help but admire the flush on her face and the creases on her cheeks that could only appear from laughter or a large candid smile. It didn't seem possible but she managed to look lovelier to him more than usual.

He came out of his stupor when Ami gasped as she glanced at her wristwatch. "Look at the time! I better get home if I want to get any studying done."

"What time is it? I hope I didn't miss my show!" Usagi grabbed Ami's arm to sneak a peek at her watch. "Good, I still got time if I hurry." The blonde grinned.

"Be sure to record it for me. I don't have cable, remember?" Minako reminded Usagi.

Usagi nodded. "I'll invite you and Mako-chan over to watch it this weekend."

Ami sighed and hung her head, once again lamenting being the only one concerned with her studies.

"Oh you're all invited too, if you want to come and watch it!" Usagi smiled, clearly missing the point of Ami's frustration.

"Yeah, feel free to hang out with us more, Goten-kun." Makoto smiled, Minako and Usagi nodding in agreement.

"Thanks." Goten chuckled, feeling flattered by the invitation and collected approval.

The girls settled the bill, picked up their things, and exited the café while bidding each other farewell. Rei and Goten walked side by side towards the shrine. Goten couldn't keep the smirk off of his face.

Rei's eye twitched lightly in annoyance. "You look awfully proud of yourself. What, is it because you finally made me laugh?"

"Yes. Well, that and another thing…" Goten answered vaguely.

"What other thing?" Rei pried, eyes narrowing in warning.

"I was just happy being able to make some new friends." He answered simply.

Rei's face softened at hearing him say that. Clearly it was the last thing she expected him to say.

Goten blushed at the look she was giving him and averted his gaze, ruffling his hair with his hand. "You're real lucky. You have a lot of great friends you can always talk to. They seem like ones you can count on when things get tough. I kind of miss having that sort of thing…" He said, looking a little sad.

Rei frowned as she looked at the young man in a new light. Goten mentioned earlier that his lifelong best friend Trunks was studying abroad. He only seemed to talk about him and occasionally his brother. Now living with her, he hardly goes out and gets to spend time with other people his own age. He's just stayed put and worked, helping her with every task. This must've been the first real friendly outing he's had in a long time. Besides that, he had been isolated in a town he's still getting to know, a long way from home or anything familiar. She could feel her heartstrings tug with sympathy for him. He must feel no different than what she did before she met Usagi and the rest of the girls, alone and lonely.

"H-Hey, Goten..?" Rei spoke softly, placing a hand on his arm to get his attention.

He glanced back and blinked, getting lost in the tender look her violet eyes were giving him.

"Look, you can't go around following me in school anymore. But that doesn't mean we can't hang out afterwards or in the weekends, when we're done working that is…" She said delicately.

"Really..?" Goten's face lit up.

"Only if you behave yourself," Rei glanced away, trying to be her usual cynical self in order to save face.

The miko let out a startled squeak when Goten pulled her into a tight warm hug, lifting her up so effortlessly her feet weren't touching the ground.

"Thanks, Rei." He whispered.

Rei could feel her heart pounding in her chest and the skin on her face heat up with the sensation of her body pressed against his. Her stomach was in knots and she was too stunned to return it.

"You're the best, you know that?" Goten grinned.

Rei snapped out of it and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know. So can you put me down now, blockhead?"

"Sure…Sorry about that." He said sheepishly and gently set her back on her feet. He was a little embarrassed with that display of affection but was relieved she didn't scream or shove him away.

"Whatever, I've got homework to do." The raven-haired woman mumbled and kept on walking.

**AN: Aw...their first hug! What a milestone! :'D So my updates are going to be a little on the slow side since I'm currently still writing chapter 8 but don't worry this is nowhere near the end!**


	8. Something More

**Chapter 8: Something More**

Goten had been flying around aimlessly hoping he was going the right direction. The scenery was very foreign to him and he did his best to home in on Trunks's ki. It was a week until Trunks decided to call him back and give him the okay to fly in and visit his apartment abroad. Goten couldn't really complain, Trunks was juggling a lot of studies and didn't have much free time. Plus, it was Goten that insisted they meet in person, uncomfortable with them catching up over the phone.

"Bingo," Goten stopped in midair before speedily descending to the correct building. Fortunately for the demi-saiyan he had the cover of night on his side to avoid being easily spotted and climbed inside through the unlocked window.

"Did somebody order a stud?" He said with a grin once his feet were on the floor.

"Clearly they got the order wrong and sent me a dud instead." Trunks whirled back to face him on his computer chair, his father's smirk on his lips.

"Hey..! I'm not a dud." Goten responded with a pout.

"Come here, you jackass." Trunks chuckled and got up to greet his long time friend with a man hug.

Goten returned it with as much affection. "Missed you too," he smiled.

He ushered for him to have a seat on the bed. "So I take it you found yourself a good place?"

"Yeah, real good, kind of reminds me of home." Goten scratched his cheek and smiled.

"What is your bedroom the size of a broom closet there too?"

"Not funny," he scowled.

"So what's so important you just had to see me about?" The lavender-haired teen inquired as he got comfortable in his chair.

"Well, I just happened to have made some new lady friends, who're total babes by the way. Maybe one of them could be your future girlfriend?" He grinned and gave him a wink.

"Uh huh, if they're all such babes, why isn't one of them your girlfriend?" Trunks cocked a brow. "Are you turning into a playboy?"

"N-No, not really, I was hoping you could give me some advice." Goten looked down and twiddled his thumbs nervously.

"Oh, I see how it is. You're looking to get laid, aren't you?" Trunks smirked.

Goten turned beat red. "What? No! I mean, yes. I mean, eventually!" He stammered. Sure, he wasn't going to broach the subject of sex but that didn't mean he wanted to stay a virgin forever.

"So what do you need? I could give you some rubbers and tips if that's what you're here for." He said and rolled his neck.

He shook his head. "Nah, we haven't even gone out on a date yet."

"That's never stopped me before." Trunks shrugged.

Goten huffed, "Yeah, I know. Rub it in, why don't you?"

"Oh I shall, and laugh at you while eating this delicious steak." He cackled mockingly and sliced off a piece of meat before consuming it. He was purposely going as slowly as possible to taunt him.

Goten's stomach grumbled and his face changed into a sour expression. "You suck!" He whined, wiping the drool off of his chin.

"Here, you can have it. I ordered 10 more anyway." Trunks said and pushed the plate to him.

"I take it back then," Goten beamed and took a bite, savoring the juiciness. He was lucky to have a friend that shared as much as Trunks did.

"So tell me about these lady friends of yours." Trunks said as he came back with two plates of the same steak order. "And try not to talk with your mouth full," he added.

"Well, there's Makoto she's an aspiring chef, kind of the big sister type. Ami's the quiet one of the bunch but she's really smart, you two could really hit it off. Then there's the two blondes Mina and Usagi, they're both really spunky and fun to be around most of the time. Lastly, there's Rei, she's the one I live with and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Goten! Hold up, you two live together?!"

"Not like that! You see her grandpa let me stay in the spare room at their house as long as I work for them." He said and finished the last bite of his steak.

"Oh okay, that makes sense." Trunks breathed and passed him a second helping.

"Like I was saying, Rei's a pretty girl -beautiful even- and she's real feisty. One big temper but she's pretty mysterious at the same time. I don't know if that's the right word. She spends a lot of her time working and acts pretty frigid sometimes. It's just so strange." He said as he finished his meat quickly.

"Yeah, I'm sure someone like you would find someone with good work ethic 'strange', Goten." Trunks snickered.

"Hey, I'm not over exaggerating. She gets up as early as 4AM for crying out loud!"

Trunks cocked a brow and his face bared an expression of interest. "Well, that definitely sounds like the kind of girl I can bring home to my dad." He deadpanned. Vegeta always got up before sunrise to train daily.

"Don't joke about that, Trunks!" Goten narrowed his eyes.

"Why? Isn't she single?" He pressed on.

"Yeah, but…" His features softened. "She's," he mumbled, looking more defeated as he realized he had no feasible argument to deter his friend's interest in her.

"Sounds like you might like her." The older one of the two said with a knowing smile.

Goten looked up at him in surprise as his cheeks turned bright pink. He felt like there was a lump in his throat. "I," he paused and tried to swallow.

"Looks like you like her a whole lot. It's all right, buddy. I think it's great." He placed a hand on his shoulder with an encouraging smile.

"What do I do, Trunks? I don't think she feels the same way. And if she does," he sighed "I don't want to risk messing everything up between us." He hung his head with a glum look on his face.

"You must be in serious L word if you're scared to lose it." Trunks smirked; he could tell he had it bad.

Goten thought back to the tender look in Rei's eyes before he hugged her for the first time. His heart was a flutter at the mere memory. He would have given anything to have her look at him with those eyes again. She felt so nice to hold in his arms too.

"You've only known each other for what, a couple of weeks, barely a month?" Trunks asked.

The black-haired teen nodded, looking overwhelmed with his sudden epiphany.

"All right, this is going to be the hardest thing you'll ever have to do. But for now, I recommend you keep your tongue tied."

He looked up at his best friend, eyes wide with confusion.

"It's not the right time for you to confess your feelings. If you told her you loved her right now, she'd spook like a horse."

"I was afraid you'd say that."

"Hey, that's just how love is. Rei sounds like the guarded type, so it won't be a picnic to earn her trust. People like that rather act frigid to shut people out than get hurt. Pace yourself and try to get to know her better, one day at a time. You'll know when the right opportunity arrives. Until then, have fun! Maybe once she sees what a great guy you are she'll warm up to the idea of being something more than friends." Trunks winked.

Goten nodded, feeling more at peace and confident. "Yeah thanks, man. I feel a lot better now."

"What are friends for?" He said, giving the love struck fool a pat on the back. "I'm always a call and fly away if you need anything."

"Speaking of which, can I borrow some money?" He grinned with his hand behind his head.

Trunks fell over and grumbled about how no one liked having a moocher for a friend. Regardless, Trunks handed him a couple of bills from his wallet before they said their goodbyes.

* * *

Makoto stretched as the credits rolled on Rei's TV before lying down on the blanket covered floor. "Thanks for letting me watch the movie here, Rei." She smiled while turning it off with the remote.

"No problem." Rei said before picking up one of her friend's homemade snacks and taking a bite. Makoto loved showering people with her cooking and insisted on making special trades if they did her any favors.

"You didn't have to make so many for me, you know. I doubt I can finish all of this." Rei said modestly. She was nothing like Usagi; she wasn't accustomed to stuffing herself until she nearly made herself sick. Even if she did, she wouldn't have even eaten half of the amount Makoto brought.

"Oh, I know. I didn't expect you to eat them all. So I made the rest for Goten-kun." Makoto snickered. She enjoyed making big quantities and with Rei's new tenant she occasionally got to do that a lot more every time she came to visit. "I am his big sis, after all." Goten was older and taller than the brunette. Yet he referred to her as his beloved older sister since he would turn into an overexcited child around her when she'd bring him food.

"Don't encourage him or we're going to have a repeat of yesterday." The miko rolled her eyes.

"I really did not expect Goten to be so grateful that he would get down on his knees and kiss my feet." Makoto snorted.

"He's an idiot," She shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"May I ask what's with the curtain sheet?" The warrior of thunder grinned shamelessly.

"Goten had a klutz attack and broke the sliding doors." Rei sighed. Now that it was brought to her attention, she really should consider calling someone to replace them. Then there was also the issue of money.

"Uh huh," the green-eyed woman's smile grew wider. "I'm sure you enjoy being able to share all this space with him. You two share beds too?"

"D-Don't be silly, Mako-chan!" Rei huffed.

"Has he asked you out yet?"

The priestess flinched at the question. "No, why would he?"

"You know why."

"Mako-chan," Rei took a deep breath.

"Come on, I just want to know, why aren't you taking the plunge? It's so unlike you; usually you're always the one to dive in head first. And now that Grandpa's better," Makoto shrugged, seeing no reason for pause.

"It's complicated." Rei answered.

"Tell me why you think it's so complicated." Her arms folded at her chest in a subtly demanding posture.

"Things are already weird enough, you know?" Rei blushed, recalling how their first meeting went.

"There is nothing weird about the situation. He's a good-looking guy, well maybe not as good-looking as my ex boyfriend, but he's funny and kind. Why not let him sweep you off your feet?"

"It  _is_  weird; I'd be dating somebody I live with. He'd never have to go home and we'd rarely get space for ourselves." The only place she seemed to get total privacy was the bathroom.

"That's the best part of it! You guys can get to know each other, and if you get tired of him, you can send him away on 'errands' or whatever. You're technically his boss and he has to do what you say anyway." Makoto argued with her hands on her hips.

"I don't know. It sounds so unprofessional. And I've never had a serious boyfriend before." Rei then grumbled. "What if I want more time to myself than enough to do errands? He'd get them done real fast too."

Makoto rolled her eyes. "Rei, I'm not telling you to declare your undying love for him. I'm just saying to give him a chance. You never know unless you try."

"How can I? I mean I'd only be doing it because he saved my grandpa and me. I-It's not like I like him or anything...we're just friends." Rei looked to the side, blushing.

Makoto looked pointedly at her friend. "That's bullshit and you know it."

"Look, I get you're trying to help, but I don't think now's the right time." A glum frown graced her lips. She wasn't ready to let somebody else in and probably had no clue on how to start. It was written all over her face and Makoto caught on.

"All right, fair enough, but mark my words. One of these days Rei, one of you is going to crack. I just hope you show the poor guy some mercy if he does first." She smirked before getting up to head out on her merry way.

* * *

Goten was finishing up cleaning the gutters when his stomach grumbled. "I know, I know." He verbally comforted his complaining tummy. Rei did say she would be coming home from school late that morning. "I think she packed some leftovers in the fridge for me." A smile tugged on his lips as he climbed down and washed up.

Once he was clean, he decided to take a snack break on the porch outside his room. Rei's crows flapped their wings and landed next to him. "Are you hungry too?" He asked with his mouth full, grinning when they cawed eagerly.

"Here you go," he said and tossed some excess grains of rice from his onigiri. The crows pecked at the floor as he reached for the next ball on his plate to find it missing. "That's weird, could've sworn Rei made 5 of them."

A small feminine pair of hands from behind suddenly covered his eyes, startling him slightly. "Guess who," the rice ball thief muttered with the treat still in her mouth.

"Usagi-chan..?" Goten blinked. The scent and voice was on par and she  _was_  the only girl he knew that would sneak someone's food and talk with her mouth full. He was rather guilty of that himself.

"Bingo!" She grinned and raised her hands away from his eyes. "Here you win a candy stick." She said and handed it to him.

"Wow, thanks!" His face lit up with glee.

"Candy makes everything better." The blonde quipped, eating the last bite of his rice she stole.

He downed the sweet and handed her another of his rice balls when she gave him the puppy eyes. "What brings you here? Rei said she wouldn't be home until later."

"Oh I knew that," she smiled mischievously. "It's why I'm here." She added after downing the second rice ball.

He blinked and looked at her wondering what her motives were.

"Can you keep a secret, Goten-kun?" She slid closer to him with a whisper.

"Sure, I guess," he answered honestly. He wasn't the best at keeping secrets but he'd try not to blab too soon.

"Rei-chan can't know I was here because I need to borrow something from her room."

"Oh, borrow what?"

"Let me show you." She snickered and grabbed him by the hand to lift him up to his feet. The blonde tugged him along into his room and stopped dead in her tracks. "What happened to the doors here?" She asked in surprise.

"Oh yeah, that's my fault…" Goten frowned.

"Goten, have you even asked Rei out? According to my novellas, it's way too soon for you two to be rolling in bed together at night, shame on you!" The moon princess scolded.

"What-No! I haven't done any of that with Rei." He said as the tips of his ears turned red.

"Then what's with the curtain?" She pointed at the sheet dividing the rooms.

"I fell down one morning and broke the doors." He mumbled sheepishly. "We haven't got them replaced yet, that's all."

"Oh, okay. I understand, it happened to me once too but I just made a hole in the paper with my arm. I guess you just made a much bigger one." Her tone went back to being cheerful.

He chuckled and nodded in response. "Yeah, that's about right."

"So how's everything going with you two? She's not still mad over this is she?" Usagi said as she stepped towards the edge of his room towards Rei's.

"I think she's over it. She took it pretty well when it happened. She didn't yell once, just took a deep breath and told me to fix it the best I could." Goten scratched his cheek.

"Really, that's how she reacted?!" She gasped in disbelief.

"Yeah, weird isn't it? I thought for sure she was going to tear me a new one." He cringed.

"It sounds like she's really warming up to you," a sly smile crept on her pink lips.

"You think so?"

"Yep, Rei only watches her temper in public or around people she's fond of when she knows they didn't do anything on purpose. I noticed that myself in middle school when I met her." She explained in a matter of fact tone.

"You two met in middle school?"

The girl with buns on her head nodded.

"Wow, with how close you all are, I would've assumed you knew each other since birth or preschool at least."

"We do seem that close, huh? I guess it feels longer than one lifetime." She smiled knowingly. "But it's true; you're probably starting to grow on her."

"Yeah, like a fungus." Goten snorted.

"A fungus of love," she grinned teasingly.

His face went beat red.

She giggles and lifted the curtain, ushering him over. "Come on; let me show you something cool."

Goten froze in place, recalling the last time he intruded in Rei's bedroom. "Um, I rather not," He gulped.

"Why..?" She blinked.

"She caught me in her bedroom once and it took her a week to forgive me. I don't want a repeat of that." He frowned and looked at the floor.

"What were you doing in her room, looking for her panties?" Her eyes narrowed at him.

"No, nothing like that," his hands flailed nervously. "I was looking for ointment and I found this old picture. She seemed really mad about it when she saw me holding it."

"What was the picture of?"

"A girl that looked like the spitting image of her, only her hair was wavy."

Usagi was still until her eyes suddenly widened in realization and concern.

"You know who it is?"

She gave a small nod.

"Is it Rei's mom?" He asked.

She nodded once more. "She doesn't talk about her."

A silence fell over the room as Goten felt a pit of dread in his stomach fearing for what harm he might have caused the shrine maiden unknowingly.

"Anyway," Usagi put on her big bright smile. "Let me show you that cool thing. It'll only take a sec, I promise. I know exactly which one I want." She tugged him by the wrist and pulled him into Rei's bedroom.

"I don't think we should be in here, Usagi. Don't you think we should wait until Rei comes home? I don't want us to get in trouble with her." He asked nervously.

"It's fine, trust me. She'll never know we were in here." The blonde slid the closet door open and pushed the hung dresses aside to reveal a chest. "Behold, the hidden treasure." She grinned and cracked it open.

"Is that…manga?" He rubbed his eyes in astonishment at the plethora of comics stacked neatly in the chest.

"Isn't it neat? Rei has a big collection. She hasn't updated it in the last two years though. But some of them are so good I like reading them again. I think I've read all but 5 of them." She rambled as she pulled out bunches and handfuls of books out.

Goten knelt down and began looking through them eagerly as if it really was treasure. "Wow, I would have never pegged Rei as a comic book type of girl. This is so cool!" He beamed. This somehow made him very excited. Then he recalled a conversation he had with Trunks at age 10. When describing the perfect girlfriend he mentioned how they'd play games from sunrise to sunset and read comic books before sleeping under the same blanket. A silly childhood dream yet it left him blushing over this new discovery.

"Yeah, she likes to act like she's above something as awesome as comic books. But she's a hell of a collector. Some of these were signed by the writers themselves." She pointed out as she lifted an autographed copy. "And here's the Sailor V omnibus of the whole series."

"She liked Sailor V?!" He grabbed the book and flipped through it. "I remember playing the video game with Trunks all the time. I wanted to read the comic but they were always sold out in stores." He pouted.

"Yeah, same happened to me too." Usagi matched his pout. "That is, until I met Rei. She has more superhero stuff. Look, this one's really old: The Great Saiyaman Volume 1."

His eyes were suddenly as big as saucers. "What did you say?!"

"The Great Saiyaman Volume 1: Enter the Defender of Satan City." Usagi repeated with a dramatic voice while posing with her hand.

"That's my brother!" He exclaimed through his laughter.

"Eh?" Usagi blinked.

"I mean, that's totally my big brother Gohan's favorite superhero." He cleared his throat. "He mimicked his poses and everything."

"Oh well yeah, Rei picked it up when she was a little girl. She must've considered him a favorite too if she read it this much. That's why the spine's all bent. I never heard of him before I read this in middle school. It's funny stuff, too bad it got discontinued. Ami-chan said it's because the publisher's went bankrupt that year. It's kind of amazing Rei has it since only a short number of these were sold. And that was 10 years ago, give or take."

"Whoa," his smile then slowly faded. "You know, things like this prove me right on how little I know Rei. I thought she was only into fancier stuff classic literature or poetry. We live under the same roof but she's one big puzzle most of the time. She hardly talks about her personal life, now that I think of it." He would've never even known she had so many friends if they hadn't come visit her.

"I know how you feel." She replied with a sad smile. "Rei-chan isn't the best at sharing things about herself. You won't always get her to open up when you want her to. But she's always there to listen whenever you're in a pinch. You just got to be there to listen when she needs it." She said affectionately.

Goten let what she said sink in. So she wasn't shutting him out. Rei was guarded in general, even with friends. He couldn't help but feel a little sad. It was normal for him to say what was on his mind and heart. He always felt that it was safe and welcome. If Rei had to stay reserved from her own friends, he wondered why.

"You know what would help?" Usagi's voice brought him out of his thoughts. "You should ask her out. Dates are great for getting to know one another. If it's just the two of you she might let herself unwind." She collected her loot and stepped out of the closet while following him back to his room.

"You really think that will work?" He asked uncertainly as he held the sliding door open for her to step back out on the porch.

"I know Rei-chan better than anyone; she always has her guard up. But when it's just her and me, it makes opening her heart easier." Her eyes were cast down with a bittersweet expression on her face. "Besides, how else are you supposed to romance her if you can't whisk her away to someplace more intimate?" Her gaze came back up to him with the cheerful expression back on her lips.

'And she's back.' Goten thought when he smiled with amusement in response, a modest blush on his cheeks. "You have everything you came for?"

"Yes," she stepped outside but then turned around slowly. "And Goten," she paused.

"What..?" He paused.

"If you ever hurt Rei-chan, we will never forgive you." She stated grimly.

Goten froze as a chill went up his spine over the sudden change in her tone of voice. It wasn't like the way she sounded at the sleepover. Then he knew she was joking. Now, there was no arguing how dead serious she was.

He opened his mouth but before any sound had come out a bow case lightly whacked the golden haired schoolgirl upside the head.

"I should've known you'd be here, Odango." Rei fumed.

"Ouch Rei-chan, that hurt!" Usagi whined as her eyes welled up with tears.

"I barely put any strength in it and you know it!" The miko balled her fists in defense. "Don't try to cry your way out of this with your crocodile tears! I know you're here to steal my manga."

"You didn't have to be mean and hit me, Rei-chan!" She wailed.

"Maybe if you didn't go behind my back I wouldn't have to. You know better than to go through my stuff, even this blockhead does." She crossed her arms and nodded at Goten's direction.

Goten cracked a nervous smile. "Yeah, I learned my lesson the first time."

"Did you?" Rei eyed him.

"Yeah, he did. He warned me and everything. I just chose not to listen." Usagi smiled, sneaking him a wink while she rubbed the back of her head.

Goten gave her a smile of gratitude for covering for him.

"Ugh, that is so like you! Get over here!" Rei lunged for her but Usagi sprinted away screaming. A chase ensued between the two high school girls. "Usagi..!" Rei growled.

"But I wanted the next issue!"

Watching the two girls running back and forth on the grounds had him laughing before his mind started to reel in what he should do next. 'Just ask her out. Everyone makes it sound so easy,' he thought, mentally debating to follow through with Usagi's advice or not.

Rei finally pounced on the shorter girl and pulled at her cheeks. Both her and Goten shared a laugh at the funny faces she made before stopping the horseplay.

At the end of the day, Usagi was able to leave with the manga she took on the condition that she take care of it and that all her borrowing was checked in with Goten when Rei wasn't home.

**AN: And that concludes chapter 8 everyone! Will Goten make his move next chapter? How will Rei take it? Stay tuned!**

**So sorry this took a lifetime to update, everyone! My laptop was stolen around June and then recovered only to find it wiped clean of the files I originally had in there, including this chapter. I had to rewrite this and the latest chapter of The Crowning Curse all over again. I've been dealing with a lot on my plate but I'm still going to do what I can to continue with this story.**


	9. In Rain or Shine

**AN: Thanks for all the kudos! U** **nlike Crowning Curse this story has a more thoroughly planned outline so it'll be easier to update if I can keep up the inspiration and work ethic on it. Support via reviews, etc. will be very much appreciated.**

**I love you all, darlings!**

**Chapter 9: In Rain or Shine**

With his arms stretched upwards, Goten let out a yawn as he laid on his futon. He had finished all of his chores inside the shrine for the day. The others would have to wait until the rain cleared up. Until then it was looking to be a lazy Sunday afternoon. He had taken a powernap for a couple of hours and was no longer tired but the overwhelming boredom was not helping him try to stay awake.

"Hey Rei," he sat up and turned to the curtain beside him, knowing she was in her room. "Mind if I peel back the curtain for a bit?"

"Sure," She mumbled absentmindedly.

He smiled and pulled the sheet to the side to allow the two to see each other. "Hey," he greeted.

"What is it?" She asked, looking up from her book.

"It's nothing, just wondering if you wanted some company. You were just so quiet."

"Oh don't worry; I've had your obnoxiously loud snoring keep me company for the last four hours." She said and waved dismissively.

"Sorry about that," he apologized with a nervous chuckle.

"Whatever, I'm used to it." She rolled her eyes only to put them back on the book.

"So what's that case you're bringing home from school with you?" Goten pointed at the open long cylindrical object next to her school bag.

"It's for my arrows. I rejoined the archery club this year." She nonchalantly turned the page.

"Wow that sounds cool. You any good..?"

She merely pointed out of her room to the patio where a target practice stand was, a couple of arrows on the bull's-eye and several surrounding it not too far off. She must've shot from indoors while he was sleeping, a remarkable distance from where the stand was outside. It appeared she avoided stepping out so she wouldn't get rained on.

"Hey, that's real impressive!"

"If you think so," she shrugged. "Personally, I think I've gotten rusty. I haven't practiced since last fall." Her instructor was rather harsh with her; both knew she could do better. So she pushed on the extra practice by taking her bow home with her and shooting after morning meditation.

"It's still amazing if you ask me. You're really talented."

Rei looked up from her book then to catch his smile. "Thank you," she said calmly and raised her book once more to cover her face. She hid behind it to cover the slight coloring of her cheeks from his praise. She was so used to her shooting receiving compliments from her classmates, yet it never fazed her as much as it did when Goten spoke to her with such sincere admiration. Why in the hell was she starting to care about what he thinks? She was always caught off guard by his words and couldn't come up with a snide retort.

The rain suddenly died down and Goten stuck his hand out. "So glad that's over, it sure was pouring earlier."

"Uh huh," Rei mumbled, paying him no mind or at least pretending not to. This was probably the third time she reread the passages her teacher assigned for homework. The period of his power nap left her bored to bits so she decided on school work to take advantage of the silence. Now that he was up, she held on to the book nevertheless. If he were to give her another glance with that dopey grin of his, her cheeks would heat up even more. Damn him, she was starting to get mad over it.

"Man, it's just so boring today. No one's going to buy charms in this weather." Goten whined. "I wish Grandpa was here, I'd be up for getting my butt handed to me in a game of Shogi right now."

"Please, whenever you two get together I'm amazed we don't receive noise complaints." The shrine maiden rubbed her temples remembering how her grandfather and Goten would burst into hysterical laughter over the dumbest things. "Thank god he's been going out a lot with Nana."

"Yeah, those two lovebirds probably smooch every chance they get."

Rei audibly gagged. "Please, change of topic."

Goten chuckled, knowing she was half-joking. He was starting to see flickers of that sense of humor coming out of her around him. "So what's that book you got there?"

"Required reading for my literature class."

"Isn't that the book you finished the other night?"

'Crap,' she thought. "Yeah, well I was rereading to keep the material fresh in my head."

"You like studying?" He asked. Rei seemed diligent with about everything she did. He had to wonder if she was passionate about academics like Gohan was.

Rei shrugged. "It's something to do when I've got time to kill."

Goten tilted his head and lifted a brow. "Are you saying you're studying because you're bored?"

"I guess if you put it that way, yes."

"Get out," Goten spoke in disbelief.

"You got a problem with a studious young maiden?" She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.

"No, but I got a problem with a stick in the mud." He said boldly while staring her back down.

"Excuse me?" She put down the book and stood on her feet.

"You heard me. Your grandpa's a fun guy and I think you should take a page from his book." He quipped smoothly, rising to meet her. "It's kind of a surprise, with how uptight you are. I guess you didn't inherit it from him. The fun gene must've skipped a generation with you."

'Oh, no he didn't.' Rei's mouth hung agape at the sass he dealt. She fell to her instinctual reaction and felt her temper flare up. "Listen here, blockhead!" She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, jerked him forward to meet her eye level, and bared her teeth at him. "I know how to have fun just fine! In fact I know all my friends consider me VERY fun to be around!"

Goten blushed when he realized their noses brushed against each other. They haven't been this physically close since when he gave her CPR up at the mountains. He couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat. She was so hot when she was mad! Maybe Trunks was right about him being in deep L word.

Apparently Rei caught on that they were too close and pushed him to a more acceptable distance to reprimand. "I don't need a man telling me what I am or not! So watch that big mouth of yours!"

"Prove it," he muttered. The little hamster wheel in his mind suddenly sped like no tomorrow as he was blessed with a brilliant idea.

"What?"

"Prove to me that you're really a fun girl to hang out with. We'll leave, just get up and go from here, and you show me a good time. It'll be just the two of us. No help from the other girls." He smirked.

Her eyes widened, clearly not expecting him to challenge her in response. Her fists tightly clenched at her sides as she inwardly debated what her next move would be. The ball was in her court now.

'Take the bait. Take the bait. Take the bait. Take the bait. Please, take the bait!' He chanted in his mind. In his little experience living with this fiery young woman, he knew for a fact that she never backed down from a challenge. And now he hoped she wasn't going to start now.

She met his eyes with unyielding determination, oblivious to how much of a turn on it was. "All right, you're on."

Goten did everything within his power to keep his composure. The inside of his mind sighed in relief and simultaneously broke out in a victory dance at the development. She couldn't see that this really excited him. "I'll grab my jacket then." He said with a confident smirk before turning around.

The soldier of fire grabbed his arm when it donned on her. "Wait just a second," she hissed so he'd face her. "This is by no means a date, Goten!" She added harshly, blushing over the idea.

"What, a date? Pfft! That's ridiculous, we're just friends. Just a simple outing between us two, as friends, that's all." He chuckled nervously.

"Good, at least we know that's clear." She released him.

Once they were dressed, they slowly made their way down the shrine stairs. Well, she went slowly. Goten bounced like an energetic young hare while splashing about in the puddles on each step. "I'm already having fun." He grinned.

"All's fun before you slip and hurt yourself," Rei rolled her eyes. She mentally groaned about how little effort this challenge would take. Goten was like a puppy, usually entertained himself. She tried not to smile at the mental image of him chasing his own tail around if he had one.

"Hey, I thought the point of this outing was for you to let loose. We're not even off the stairs and you're already nagging." Goten teased as he jumped another step carelessly. This time he did slip and lost his balance.

"Goten..!" Rei hurried down the steps he tumbled down.

He landed on his bottom and held the back of his head. "Ouchy," he winced with watery eyes.

"Are you all right?" Rei knelt next to him and looked him over for scrapes.

He closed his eyes and a quick flash of images came to his mind: wildflowers, a tree with a broken branch, and a scraped knee.

"Goten," Rei's voice snapped him out of it, violet eyes looking down at him with concern.

"I'm all right," he mumbled as Rei felt his head and found a bump. "Not the first time I fell down and hit my head."

"That doesn't surprise me one bit." Rei snorted in response. "Sorry," she whispered gently when she lightly pressed his bump only to have him cringe in response.

"Kiss it better, Rei." He gave her the puppy dog pout.

With a roll of her eyes and a huff she stood yet offered him her hand. "Suck it up, you big baby."

"I'm not a baby." He grumbled and took her hand so she could yank him back on his feet.

"Then stop acting like one." She said and stuck out her tongue.

"Meany," he squinted his eyes in mock annoyance.

"But in all seriousness, you think I've lived here for 11 years and not know that jumping on the wet shrine steps is dangerous?" Her sleeve was pulled back to expose her elbow. "I got this scar from slipping off the 17th step."

"Talk about brutal," he said and looked at it up close. "Did you have to get stitches for that?"

"Yup, I was 8 years old at the time." Rei nodded and righted her sleeve.

"Wow, did you cry?" He cringed. Knowing him he would have definitely been bawling and screaming, not just from the gash but the needle trying to sew him up. He hated needles, something he inherited from his father. Just thinking about them sent shivers down his spine.

"Nope, I never cry." Rei flipped her hair in a bout of confidence.

"Liar, everybody cries." He said in a matter of fact tone. She was starting to remind him of Trunks. He used to always say that warriors did not cry.

"I'm not everybody." She countered as they crossed the street into the shopping district.

"So what fun plans you got for us today, dinner and a movie?"

"Hell no," Rei snorted. "I don't like watching television, why would I sit for 2 hours to watch a movie?"

"Oh come on, I'm sure there are movies even you like," Goten smiled.

"I guess I like period dramas with some action thrown in." She stated after taking a moment to think. She enjoyed samurai films. "I'm okay with horror as long as it isn't sci-fi horror." She said and crinkled her nose in distaste.

"You don't like sci-fi? So that means you don't like movies about aliens and space?"

"Not at all," she shook her head. "I think a lot of those alien movies are ridiculous." She said with her arms crossed. Of course she found those films preposterous because she knew aliens exist. She just didn't like the subject being turned into a worldwide phenomenon for cheap thrills and a quick buck. And little green men from Mars? She found that personally offensive.

"Yeah real ridiculous," Goten tugged at his collar. 'Oh boy, if she only knew she was living with a half human and half space monkey. She'd probably call me nuts until I start flying.' He then recalled the time he first transformed into a super saiyan in front of his mother. 'Would she think I'm some sort of freak?'

"Goten," Rei snapped her fingers in front of his face to keep him from spacing out on her. "I swear you're so easily distracted."

"Sorry," he mumbled and followed after her.

"Hey, you like video games don't you, Goten?"

"Yeah, I used to play them with Trunks all the time. He always had the best." He beamed.

"The arcade's nearby. You up to play some games?"

"Am I?!" Goten all but squealed.

"Guess I didn't have to ask." She rolled her eyes.

"Welcome," the blonde man greeted at the entrance before grinning. "Rei-chan, nice to see you again and it looks like you brought a friend." He turned to Goten. "Looks like you found your way to the shrine all right."

"Yeah, thank you…Moto-" He paused trying to remember his name.

"Motoki," he said and held out his hand for the teen to shake.

"That's it. I swear it was on the tip of my tongue! I'm Son Goten," He chuckled and shook his hand while they both exchanged a bow. "It's nice to see you again, Motoki."

"Likewise, you must really be something. Rei can really work someone like a dog." He laughed.

Rei huffed. "Oh come on, that was only one New Year's." Rei looked up at Goten. "I was understaffed one year and he volunteered to help set up the shrine for New Year's, complaining the whole time."

"I think I still have bruises from hanging those decorations." The blonde smiled.

"Don't worry, now that she has me, you won't have to lift a finger. I can take anything she can throw at me." Goten announced cockily, rubbing his nose.

"Says the man who can't properly fold a shirt," Rei cracked a smirk.

"I told you. I never did laundry before, okay?!" He whined while flailing his arms.

"Wow, this is scary," Motoki muttered in amusement.

"Huh," they both turned their attention to him.

"You're like a male Usagi-chan." He laughed. "You bicker just like she and Rei would, like a married couple."

The two went wide-eyed and blushed. "We do not!" Rei argued after quickly recovering from the light shock.

Goten remained quiet. Motoki had a valid point. His parents bickered, Bulma and Vegeta bickered, and even Gohan and Videl argued over what's best for Pan.

Rei turned to notice Goten not saying anything to argue with and she let out a frustrated sigh. "Let's just go play a game already." She grumbled and grabbed him by the wrist, leaving Motoki snickering.

Stopping at the token machine, they put in their bills and pocketed their change. "Wow, they have the old Sailor V game here." Goten's face lit up.

"Yeah, the girls and I would all play it in middle school and compare high scores. Ami-chan always came out on top, that little overachiever." Rei sighed with a smile, recalling Minako's unsatisfied screeching.

"Same thing happened to me with Trunks. Then again, he probably got a lot more practice in since it was his game." Goten said as he looked around for a game they could play together. He blinked at a game machine with bar railings and a ground pad. "What's that?"

"Dance Dance," Rei answered. "You never played it before?"

Goten shook his head.

"Come on, it's tricky your first time but it gets fun as you go along." Rei said as she led him to the machine. "The pads have arrows that correspond to the ones on screen. The point of the game is to hit them with your feet when the arrows on screen hit that area. It's all about timing."

"Looks simple enough," He nodded in understanding.

"I'll show you how simple it really is." She scoffed.

They popped in their tokens and Rei decided to put them on Standard difficulty to make it easy on him. Once the music started and the arrows began to fly across screen they began to tap away. Goten found himself scrambling his feet around. He wasn't really much of a dancer, got his two left feet from his father. He glanced at the side and saw Rei move with poise. Her flow was perfect she looked calm despite the quick movement of her feet. It was the spark in her eyes that gave her away. Inside she was anything but calm, she was driven!

The stage ended and the game tallied up their score. Goten's was pitifully low. "What was that?" Rei turned to Goten in mock frustration. "I've seen you move a lot faster doing chores."

"Sorry, I got a little distracted…again." His hand went behind his head.

"Well get on the ball! I know you can do a lot better than that." She said and popped in her change.

The second round however went much better for him than what he had expected and matched Rei with a perfect score. 'Guess thinking of it like a kata helps,' he thought while smiling proudly.

"All right, tiebreaker!" Rei exclaimed and set it on Expert Difficulty.

"Go big or go home." Goten muttered with a half smile and shrug before the music picked up.

In a thunder of thumping dance steps the two stomped on the pads and the game echoed with dings indicating they were flowing perfectly. Rei made the mistake of glancing over at Goten this time. His feet definitely moved at a speed she witnessed before in short bursts when he'd clean around the house. Just how was he doing that? She never quite met someone that would pick up on Dance Dance so well on their first time playing. He may have been an idiot, but she couldn't doubt that he was an idiot with great hidden talent.

Lost in her thoughts, her body slipped up quite literally. Forgetting to account that she wore heeled boots today, the aforementioned heel on her left foot slid sideways and threw her off balance. Rei let out a small gasp as she tipped towards him, her arms stretched out on instinct to prevent falling face first. In a flash, Goten's arms caught her and his waist was encircled by hers.

"Rei, you okay?" His voice asked gently.

Rei's breath caught as she lifted her face, inches away from his shirt, to look into his eyes. Those soft kind eyes were getting to her, striking something deep inside of her. Why was her heart thumping against her chest again? How could this blundering blockhead get her face heated up with just a look?

"Winner," The machine rang, making the two of them glance up at the monitor. Apparently they didn't finish the last stage but Goten still won by a couple of points.

Ironically that score wasn't exciting him nearly as much as getting to hold Rei again, feeling her arms around him this time. 'Now  _this_  is what winning feels like.' He smiled and righted Rei up on her feet.

Angrily twitching she pulled away. "You don't have to look so smug about it." She blushed, clearly misreading his smile in her own embarrassment. "I'm done playing this game." She crossed her arms.

"Okay, what do you want to play next?" He grinned earnestly. His inner child was bouncing gleefully over getting Rei all to himself and playtime in one afternoon. For an unofficial date, this was off to a great start.

"All those other machines are taken," Rei stated while looking at the two player arcade game section, her eyes were on the shooter game.

"I don't think I'd stand much of a chance in a shooter against you." He shrugged sheepishly. He wasn't lying at all. Rei could easily win at that. He had pretty good aim with his throwing arm but the technology lagged when it came to following his quick reflexes. He recalled how he and Trunks used to make games short circuit if they weren't careful with their speed.

"The air hockey table's free." She pointed over the table against the far wall.

"All right, just please promise me you won't aim the puck at my face?" He scratched his cheek.

"No," Rei stuck her chin up in defiance.

"Oh come on, don't be a spoilsport." He mock whined as they took their sides at the table.

He initially decided to take it as slow as what would be a snail's pace to him. No surprise to him, Rei aggressively smacked the puck on her first turn. How silly something as trivial as an arcade game could turn into something so intense. His reflexes were extraordinary compared to a human's but he was still working up a sweat at how hard Rei would hit the puck enough to shoot from side to side in attempts to confuse him. She hadn't scored yet but she just might if he let down his guard just once.

The miko was in the zone as their mallets clacked against the puck uninterrupted in a rapid fire pace. She ground her teeth when the puck began to blur from her sharp sight. It suddenly vanished from the table and she froze in surprise when she heard it ding and the score was suddenly 0-1. She noticed his tiny smirk, eyes flickering with mirth as they lowered for her gaze to follow. She found the puck in her goal pocket. Withholding the urge to scream, the look he was giving her hinted that was what he wanted out of her, she merely exhaled sharply through her nostrils and picked the puck up and set it to play.

'Okay,' refusing to lose, she decided to cheat and channeled a bit of her power. 'Let's see how you handle this!' It had been a while since she had done so but her morning meditation kept her senses sharp despite going so long without being used. Her years as a senshi even helped polished them a bit.

Now he was suddenly anxious. Something about Rei's ki was different, changed somehow. Was this what those women at the shrine meant by power? Her game was better. Almost as if she knew exactly where the puck was going to—

Ding.

He slowly glanced up at the score 1-1. A sharp exhale in escaped his lips in awe. She cleared her throat to get his attention. Goten looked back at her and slowly cracked invigorated smile. The way their eyes met, each holding a spark to them, it was the most electrifying thing. It was almost like the same rush he'd get when he was about to spar with Trunks, the boisterous feeling that washes over a saiyan when they meet a worthy match.

'Damn,' she thought. 'Just now, he looked kind of hot when he gave me that look.' With a shake of her head and roll of her eyes she pointed at his side of the table as if to signal his turn to serve. 'What am I thinking? This is Goten, my resident blockhead!'

Rei intercepted the puck at each time and scored 5 points.

Now Goten was sweating. He didn't want to lose but he didn't want to use  _too much_  power. Plus if he let Rei win, she'd probably get mad over him holding back. Not his fault he didn't want to lose control of the situation. 'Wait, control that's it,' his mind lit up at the idea.

He cracked a smile as shifted an inkling of his ki into the puck, practically invisible to any bystander's eye. This would even the odds. After all, if she was going to use her power, then there's no reason he couldn't use some of his.

'That dirty cheater,' she inwardly cursed as she saw a tiny aura in the puck as it began to move on its own accord. It would swerve around her puck every time she tried to intercept it from the goal.

She let out a growl as the score was 7-5, her favor but he was catching up.

More intense clacking and it had come down to 9-8, Rei's favor once more. Both of them glaring heatedly at the table as the puck zipped back and forth in a straight trajectory.

"Looks like that couple has anger issues to work through," a guy and his friends commented as they passed by them to exit.

Rei made the mistake of whirling her head to glare in their direction, "We're not a couple!"

That instant Goten lost control of the puck as it leapt to the air, heading for her face. He reached his hand up to try and stop it but was surprised to see Rei turn back with a blazing glare; a strange yet familiar symbol briefly appeared on her forehead. She smacked the puck midair with her mallet, and Goten could feel her ki spike up that instant. The puck ricocheted off her mallet and suddenly ignited, flying through the air aflame now. Goten sidestepped out of its path and looked blue in the face over what had just happened, trying to process. Apparently once Motoki threw down a towel to stomp out the flaming puck, Rei's face also turned blue over the spectacle. The symbol on her forehead now gone.

"Okay, I'll call this your win. I'm all gamed out for today." Goten nervously chuckled. If they continued, he knew it would have only escalated into some serious property damage.

"Yeah, me too…" Rei muttered, surprisingly meek. Why did she let it get so out of hand like that? She almost could have totally blown her secret!

The two walked away from the table and were on their way out when Goten tugged her sleeve eagerly. "Hey," he got her attention and pointed at the photo booth machine. "I haven't been in one of those in a while. Want to take a picture?"

"Why?" Rei blinked.

"Well, we still have tokens left. Why not get a souvenir?" He grinned.

Rei pouted and rummaged through her clutch in her jacket to check herself in her compact mirror. "I don't know. My hair's probably a mess." She said and toyed with her bangs.

"You look perfect," he stated.

She could see her cheeks tint pinker in her reflection and snapped the mirror closed. "Fine, but if I don't like them, we throw them out."

"Sure," he laughed and let her slide in the booth first.

"It says we got 4 shots." She said as she programmed the machine once they put in their coins. She pressed against the touch screen for the options of 2 print copies.

"You want a souvenir too?"

"Shut up," she grumbled. "It's just in case you lose yours."

Goten bit the inside in his cheek and decided against commenting about Rei covering up her sentimentality. 'Don't worry, I won't tell anyone you have feelings.'

"Pick a theme." Rei stated as the screen came up.

"That one," he pointed at the Sailor V one with childlike enthusiasm.

"Sailor V, big surprise." Rei rolled her eyes. She could just see Minako's reaction right now; finding out Goten was a big fan of hers. Like she really needed the ego boost to begin with.

"Hey, this'll be fun!" He exclaimed. The timer went on for the first slot. "Okay, justice poses, back to back!" He directed as he turned slightly, bringing up his hands to fold them and make a gun shape.

Rei cracked a smile and followed his lead. Good thing she had years of experience when it came to posing heroically.

Click. "Okay, next one..! Pretend to punch me like a crook."

Rei giggled as he lifted her fist to press his cheek upwards and he made a silly face. Click.

"Glamour shot?" He looked to her and asked.

Rei nodded, the delightful smile now a full one from ear to ear. Goten scooted closer and used his hands to make a frame around their faces. Rei copied a pose she had seen on a cover of a magazine with her hands folded under her chin and her eyes giving off a look of allure. Goten tried to mimic her but exaggerated it with over the top sexy lip pouting. Click.

Rei burst out laughing at that one once it was on screen.

"Love it," he chuckled and put an arm around her. "Now for the big finish, victory poses..!" They both smiled while making the V signs. Click.

"Awesome," he righted himself up and took his arm off. "See, that wasn't so bad."

"It was surprisingly entertaining." She nodded and grabbed the strips when they were printed. "Guess I was right to get a copy." She handed him his and watched him looking them over in glee.

"You're pretty photogenic. I never would have suspected that." Rei added.

"Thanks, I like taking pictures." He blushed and sheepishly put his hand behind his head.

They waved Motoki goodbye and left the arcade. Rei decided to take him through the scenic route and nudged him towards the park.

"Say, back there in the air hockey match—" Rei began but was interrupted.

"Yeah, that was intense. You really had me nervous." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I saw you do something to the puck." She said, getting to the point.

He froze, staring back at her wide eyed.

"Is that what you meant when you talked about training with your brother and father?" She inquired with a raised brow.

"Um, well you see it's a little more advanced like—Race you!" He called out in panic when he couldn't think up a good enough explanation.

"Hey, I wasn't done talking to you!" She cried out and took off after him through the grass. Okay, so maybe she wasn't in a position to ask. After all, she couldn't exactly tell him the puck was lit on fire because she's a reincarnated Martian warrior princess of flame.

Goten found the shrine maiden surprisingly agile in heeled boots, and fast. He jumped chained railings and she followed after him in the green grass. It occurred to him just how long it's been since he really pushed himself into doing some physical activity. His blood was pumping over having her right on his trail. The hill was awfully steep on the way down and he suddenly tripped over something, tumbling the rest of the way.

Rei jumped the unidentified speed bump as if she knew its location all along and slid after him on her heels with flawless balance.

He somersaulted to recover on his feet once on flat land but didn't expect Rei to be quick to tackle him from behind. 'She's a…really fast woman!' He thought as the air was knocked out of them and they rolled in the grass until they came to a stop.

She had him pinned by the shoulders and straddled his waist. "Caught you," she panted for breath with a pleased look on her face. "So, do I get a prize or something, is that how this works?" She tilted her head with an expression mixed of puzzlement and amusement.

Goten helplessly broke out in a fit of laughter. "You're really fast! No one's ever caught me like that before." He panted and rested his head on the ground. When his eyelids shut he saw a familiar silhouette of a little girl in his mind.  _'Pinned you, I win..!'_  They snapped back open to see the gorgeous young woman on top of him. He then looked at her in a new light and his heart fluttered in an all too familiar pattern. It couldn't be…

Rei laughed back. "Well, there's a first time for everything." She said and climbed off of him, dusting the blades of grass off of her clothes. She then stretched out her hand to help him up.

"Ouch, crap, I think I got a leg cramp!" He said as he held his leg, tugging her back from his weight.

She squeaked but kept from toppling on top of him. "You're pathetic. Walk it off, you big baby!" When she saw him wince, she rolled her eyes and helped him up once more. His arm was wrapped over her shoulders and she stood supporting his weight to help him limp along.

"So what was it that I tripped over?" He asked while cursing his muscles. It was probably that Dance Dance game. Was he really so out of shape? Maybe he should go back to doing kata in the morning or at least some basic exercise like jogging.

"The sprinkler," she answered. Just as she said that they all decided to come on. "Oh f—Are you kidding me right now?!" She exclaimed as the jets of water started squirting them from all directions.

"Go on without me!" He dramatically jested.

"No, I'm not leaving without you!" She played along. "Move it, soldier!"

They both hurried through the barrage of sprinklers until they were back on the pavement. "We made it, dry land!" He cheered.

"How may I ever repay your heroic efforts?" He chuckled and stretched his leg, still stinging but not unbearable.

"Buy me dinner," Rei answered without a pause.

"Can do," he said and shook his wet hair, getting droplets on her like a dog, earning a laugh out of her.

The two didn't have to walk far before stopping at a small Chinese restaurant. They were seated and ordered one of everything on the menu before the rain started pouring down again.

"Now  _that_  was a lot more fun than an afternoon of playing Shogi with Grandpa." He sighed cheerfully ad relaxed into his seat.

"I still can't believe  **you**  know how to play that game." Rei stated honestly. A strategy game seemed like the farthest thing from Goten's interests. The guy couldn't even plan to write a grocery list. He just saw what he liked and grabbed it like a little kid. She found it amazing he could even remember the rules and everything.

"My brother Gohan taught me how to play. Though I never really won against him," he pouted. "I think the only time I did win was against my dad. Then he beat me after he practiced with mom. Our whole family liked playing it when we were stuck indoors from bad weather, like this. It looks like a boring game but it got my family pumped for some reason. Once you get us playing we're all jumping around and shouting from the sidelines at each other. I guess we're all just real competitive."

"You sound like you're all very close." Rei said, looking very interested in the subject. Goten's family sounded rather amusing from all that she's heard from him.

"You'd think," he mumbled but then he looked back at her with wide eyes. "I mean, we are! Don't get me wrong, it's just that things didn't start out that way."

When her eyes never left him, he ran his hand through his hair to push back his fringe. "My dad usually liked to be away from home, he's kind of a free spirit like that. One day he…he was needed somewhere very important. So he was gone for seven years, before I was born. So I didn't get to meet him until I was a kid."

The usually intense looking amethyst eyes softened at that as she kept quiet, allowing him to continue while listening intently.

"Before that moment, I've only heard about him from my mom and Gohan so I was really nervous meeting him the first time. I remember I actually hid behind my mom's skirt. First thing he did after we were introduced was give me a hug, just like that. And I finally knew what it was like to have a dad that moment." His lips twitched upwards over the thought of his first memory with his father.

He glanced up and saw her give him a small supportive smile. He felt his cheeks heat up in response and he put his hand behind his head. 'Boy, this outing was supposed to be about me getting to learn more about her. Now I feel kind of silly talking about myself. I never told anyone about this before…'

"Don't stop," she interrupted his train of thought. "Keep going," she insisted.

The young man's face grew redder at that. "Well up until that point I only had my mom and brother. Gohan really stepped up to take care of me whenever mom wasn't around and he taught me everything I know. How to read, how to tie my shoes, how to fish, how to camp, how to fly," he went on.

"Fly..?" Rei blinked curiously.

"Kites," he answered, wasn't exactly a lie. Gohan taught him how to fly one before it was claimed by a bird's nest up in a tree. It provided them shade and protection from the rain so they never moved it.

"Mom was the one that taught me how to fight before my dad actually. I guess when I couldn't hit the books like my brother did she decided I take up martial arts instead. It was a win/win since Gohan could get some exercise sparring with me while I get in the extra practice." He scratched his cheek. "She's pretty overbearing but she always means well. Her cooking's always the best. Dad even said—after all the places he's been—nothing ever beat her home cooking."

"It sounds like your family is really supportive." Rei commented. She also thought that by the description, Goten's mom sounded a lot like Makoto when it came to the culinary and martial arts.

"Yeah, they really are." He smiled bashfully.

"So why'd you leave?" Rei asked.

Goten frowned in response. "There uh, just wasn't any work out there for me so I decided I needed to move for better opportunities. Besides, I'm 18 years old. You got to leave the nest some time, right?"

Rei knew that wasn't the real reason. He was hiding something, but she could tell he was new to this. She'd allow him to dance around the subject for now. "Yeah," she replied.

"So what's your family story?"

Rei looked up at him like she had hoped he wasn't going to ask. But she couldn't really blame him. He's been living with her for a while now, couldn't fault him for being curious. It was best he heard it from her now than have him ask the girls about it, or worse Grandpa. She inhaled sharply and looked out the window, watching the droplets of rain stream down the glass. "I'm going to be brief. It's not something I enjoy talking about, ever."

Goten flinched in response, knowing he hit a nerve that was best left alone. All that aside, he leaned in and listened attentively.

"My mother had health issues ever since she was young. I don't," she took a deep breath; already looking emotionally exhausted just thinking about it. "I don't remember much but when I picture her in my mind she was always indoors, at least when she wasn't resting in a hospital bed. We were really close. She taught me how to play piano, on her good days. Whenever she wasn't feeling well I'd just go outside and pick her flowers. I was 6 and I brought flowers to mom's hospital room. Then a nurse had to sit down and tell me why she wasn't waking up."

Words could not express the level of heartbreak he felt just looking at the wave of sorrow that came over her face, the way she closed her eyes trying to hold it all in. He remembered how he bawled like a newborn when his father told him Gohan was dead as a kid, then the devastation when his mother was taken from him by the evil Majin Buu. He was never really the same after that. But now the thought finally struck him, what would have become of him if they were gone for good?

A life without his mother and Gohan would have been so empty and bleak. He would have had to harden himself as his father told him to when preparing to fight. Sure he would have had Trunks, but he would have still felt so alone. To think, Rei had to go through that loss so young.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, almost choking. He felt the overwhelming urge to pull her into a hug.

"Don't be, it was a long time ago." Rei crossed her arms, sounding a bit more like her usually self. "Since then I lived in the shrine with Grandpa. My father and I haven't really spoken since."

There was a silence between them after their food arrived. While he dug in like he normally would, practically inhaled his food, he was mindful to eat a little quieter out of respect. His black eyes observed the way she gracefully ate her meal. She always had the best manners and was one of the most disciplined people he'd ever met. Rei was so grown up in a lot of ways compared to him, and he was the older one out of the two of them! Guess it wasn't surprising since she had to grow up a lot faster. Rei already had his respect but it reached a new level of height that moment. She may not be a super saiyan but she was miles beyond stronger than him inside to come out like she had after something so devastating.

"Rei," he tried gently for her attention.

"What," she looked up from her plate at him. There was no anger in her tone or expression, it was surprising.

"Just wanted to say I had a lot of fun with you today," he affirmed with a warm smile.

The young woman was taken aback by the unexpected comment before nodding and flashed him a small smile in return.

Goten counted his blessings that day.

* * *

 

"You sure bought a lot of  _Here! Microwave Dinners_  this month," Goten commented as he carried the groceries like he normally would. "Been carrying fewer bags each week too," he noted with a frown.

"Well, aside from having less time to actually cook from scratch, it's much cheaper than buying all the assorted ingredients. Prices have gone on the rise and it's all starting to add up." Rei walked beside him and pulled out her calculator app on her phone while going over the budget with a frown. 'At this rate we're barely breaking even.'

"Rei, is everything okay?" Goten asked, feeling the stress radiate off of her.

"No," she answered honestly. "Ever since Grandpa started seeing the widow, he's been scarce and that leaves just you and me running the shrine. I'm only available after school and all you can do is play cashier until I get home. Business is so damn slow this time of year too." She rubbed her temples and took a deep breath.

"I think I might have to quit archery club and stick to putting more hours into the shrine." She dragged her hands down her face. "And Sister Kathryn just told me I could be scouted for a scholarship if I got to go to nationals." Her frown grew bigger.

"A scholarship..? Wow, Rei! Does Gramps know?" Goten's eyes widened.

"No, I haven't told him because—I wasn't kidding when I told you he hasn't dated in years." She turned to him with a look of concern and worry. "Grandpa hasn't been this happy in a long time, and I really don't have the heart to tell him seeing his girlfriend is having some negative repercussions."

"I understand," he gave a nod. Rei must have felt so guilty. She must felt like doing whatever possible to shoulder this burden than risk breaking Grandpa's heart.

"Maybe nationals aren't in the cards for me," she lamented.

"Rei, what would you say if I got another job?"

The shrine maiden stopped dead in her tracks as they reached the top of the steps. She whirled around to face him in disbelief. "Goten, you don't have to—"

"I don't see why not. I've been living with you rent free all this time. The least I can do is help put some money into paying the grocery bill. After all, you know how much I eat." He grinned, trying for some levity.

"But that just leaves me alone at the shrine." She pointed out.

He shrugged. "I'll take a job in the hours you're out of school or work nights."

"You're really serious about this," she looked up at him, awestruck.

"I'm a high school graduate doing a whole lot of nothing when I'm not doing chores. You've got so much on your plate with working and school at the same time. Just take it easy and focus on your studies." He suggested while they walked to the house. "And once they see how well you can shoot a bow and arrow, I'm sure that scholarship's as good as yours." He winked.

"Goten," she gazed back at him with a sentimental gleam in her eyes. "Thank you," she breathed gratefully as she placed a hand on his shoulder. She didn't expect him to be so responsible and volunteer as eagerly as he had. The fiery woman couldn't help but appreciate him wanting to contribute without having to be persuaded into it.

A meow had suddenly broken up their moment as they both looked down at the white cat at their feet. It looked up at them with large blue eyes and a crescent moon on its forehead.

"Oh my god, Rei…Look, a kitty!" The dark-haired man gasped.

"Goten, that's-"

He put down his purchases and knelt down to pet it. "Hello, little fella," he greeted him. "Aren't you a handsome cat?" He grinned and stroked under its chin. The cat began to purr in response to the petting. "Rei, I think he likes me."

Rei covered her mouth in an effort to keep her laugh from coming out as the cat looked up at both of them back and forth with a perplexed expression while still purring to the young man's attention.

"I like him! Can we keep him, please? I always wanted a pet." Goten pleaded as he picked the feline up.

Rei shook her head. "Goten, you can't keep that cat-"

"I know a pet's a huge responsibility, but you know how much I love animals!" He interjected. "And don't worry about all we discussed, I'll work just as hard to keep this little guy fed!" He bubbled, giving the cat a pat on the tummy. "He'll sleep in my futon with me every night, I'll brush him whenever he starts to shed, and I can feed him fish or leftover diced chicken until we can get dry cat food. I already got the perfect name for him too. I'll call him Colonel Sanders." He rambled in his excitement.

The cat tilted its head up at him as if even he couldn't believe what he was saying.

Rei lost it and let out a giggle. "Artemis, his name is Artemis!"

"Huh," Goten blinked.

"The cat belongs to Minako. He usually wanders around this area until she gets out of school to take the bus home."

"Oh," he frowned then looked down at the cat in his arms. "Sorry about that, I just got so excited." He wasn't sure if he was addressing Rei or the cat at that moment.

"Why don't you take him to the arcade? It's usually Minako's last stop before the station. So it'd be easier on her to pick him up." Rei picked up a few of the bags to take them inside.

"Okay," he grinned and carried the cat on his way back down the steps. "It's a shame. You seem like a good boy. I hope Minako-chan treats you right."

He could have sworn Artemis rolled his eyes at that.

* * *

 

Goten was approaching the corner they'd always turn to reach the Crown Arcade when he heard a woman shriek.

"No, stop!"

He hurried the corner and saw a redheaded girl with a phone in her hand while a fight was breaking out between Motoki and a trio of guys that looked like street thugs.

"Una, call the cops!" Motoki called out as he ducked from one swinging at him and flipping him over with a judo technique.

"Toki, look out!" The redhead cried out as another pulled a knife on him.

"Crap, not these guys again," Goten growled and set the animal down before jumping into the fray.

He leapt in and kneed the knife wielding hoodlum in the sternum to knock him away from the blonde man. The other ruffian tried to kick him but the demisaiyan blocked it before punching him in the face.

"Toki, he's got a gun!" The girl shouted.

Motoki held up his hands and backed off when the crook he just flipped over got up pulled out his firearm.

"I had enough of this shit," the gangster exclaimed and cocked the gun.

"Me too," Goten glared in response before lunging at him.

A gun shot went off and then a cry of agony could be heard coming out of the felon. Goten had grabbed him by the wrist in one hand and steered the weapon into the sky with the other, changing the bullet's trajectory to avoid hurting someone nearby. Apparently he had put enough pressure on the man's wrist to break it. In a nimble display of swiftness, Goten took the gun apart and left his opponent to fall to his knees in shock while holding his wrist.

"You know, you guys really shouldn't play with knives and guns. Somebody could get hurt." Goten scolded.

"What are you?" The Typhoon recruit asked with a frightened look in his eyes.

"The guy that's going to keep teaching you the same lesson over and over again until you stop hurting people. I better not catch any of you around here again."

Just like that the three of them picked themselves up and scurried away like rats.

"Where the heck are the police in this area?" Goten thought out loud in frustration.

"They're a lot scarcer now. Rumor has it a lot of cops are getting bribed to look the other way." Motoki clarified. "Thank you, you saved my life." He said and held out his hand.

"No problem," he took his hand and gave a nod. "So what were they up to this time?"

"Trying to terrorize us into paying us protection," he sighed. "When I told them I couldn't and that they weren't welcome here, they threatened my baby sister. Well, after that I kind of snapped and that's when you showed up."

"Um, hello," the redhead approached him and bowed. "I'm Unazuki, Motoki's sister. Thank you so much for your help. You're the only one that jumped in to help him."

"Hi, Son Goten," he cracked a smile and introduced himself. "Again, it was no problem. I've handled amateurs like that before."

"So, what are you doing around here by yourself? Shouldn't you be with Rei at the shrine?" Motoki blinked.

"Oh, I was here to drop off this little guy." Goten said and picked up Artemis, who had strolled up to his feet.

"Minako's cat," Unazuki smiled and petted his chin. "How about we go to the café upstairs? This little guy can have some warm milk and maybe we can treat you to a free meal as a thank you."

"Really..?! Wow! Thanks!" Goten lit up at the sound of that.

Unazuki expected him to have a hearty appetite but this was on Usagi levels of hunger. Though it made sense he required more since he was larger. She came back after putting away another stack of dirty dishes piled on top of another.

Goten leaned back in his seat and sighed. "That was great," he patted his belly.

"Well, you earned it." Motoki chuckled and scratched his cheek.

Artemis had finished his tea cup of warm milk and plate of diced up chicken and curled up on the cushioned booth seat.

"So Minako just lets him roam around by himself, huh?" Goten asked and he idly stroked his furry head.

"Yeah, it's pretty much his usual routine. Cats are creatures of habit, at least so I've heard. He's a clever little guy though; same goes for Usagi-chan's cat. She likes wandering around here too." Motoki explained.

When Unazuki began gathering the last of the dishes, Goten stretched out his hand. "If you're understaffed, I don't mind helping with the dishes." He had been helping Rei out recently seeing as he always left a huge mess whenever it came to meal time.

"It's all right we have a dishwasher, besides you've already helped enough." Motoki assured their well-fed savior.

"Say if you're shorthanded, I would love to work here or down at the arcade. I'm actually looking for another job."

The blonde man blinked. "Is everything all right in the shrine?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I'm still working there for room and board but I'm going to have to pay other bills eventually. I'd also like to pay for my own food too. You saw how much I eat. I'll probably eat Rei out of her own house at this rate." He blushed lightly and twiddled his thumbs.

Motoki nodded in understanding, looking quite relieved to hear the guy hadn't been fired. Even more relieved that he was doing it to lessen the burdens on Rei and her grandfather. "Well, now that you say that, word has it old man Uokawa could use more hands on his boat. You like fishing?"

"Hell yeah, I do!" Goten beamed, sitting upright.

"Then let me write down the directions to get to the docks. His boat's called the Shinju." Unazuki handed him her notepad and pen and scribbled down the instructions.

"Thanks, you've been a big help from the start. I really appreciate it." The shaggy-haired teen stood up and spoke sincerely.

"We usually look out for people in need." The arcade owner handed him the sheet of paper with a wink. "You take care of yourself, Son. Keep staying on Rei's good side."

Goten glanced downward and rubbed the back of his head with a beet red face. "I will, believe me I will…"

He waved them all goodbye and dashed out back into the world with a determination he never had before.


	10. A New Look

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goten is making some changes in his life and is growing more and more fond of living at the shrine. Are things looking up for him and Rei?

**AN: So I checked my view stats recently and I literally have almost TWELVE THOUSAND views on this story!**

**I'm seriously overwhelmed at how quick response was just on the first week of updating the last chapter. I really appreciate all the people following and marking my story as a favorite. If you could please type me up some feedback via reviews that'd really help a lot. I just want to know which points hit or miss with you guys on characters, jokes, meta, scenes, dialogue and such; help me help you help me!**

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**Chapter 10: A New Look**

Falling raindrops left ripples on the floor puddles. The sky was gray and the shower was light as it came down. Two small figures waited under a freakishly large leaf, large enough to be used as a makeshift umbrella.

"Paper beats rock, I win." A little boy declared cheerfully as he clasped his small hand around his opponent's tiny fist.

"Yeah well paper gets wet and mushy so that's dumb." The little girl countered. They both giggled and thunder clap rolled in the distance. They huddled together in their moment of fright.

"Hey, are you coming back to play again some time?"

"Uh huh," she replied.

"Promise..?"

"Promise," their small pinkies locked together to seal the pact.

* * *

Rei jolted awake as her alarm clock woke her up. She sunk back into bed feeling the fatigue creep up on her before silencing the device with a firm tap on the button. Why did she feel so weary? Usually by 5AM she was already up and meditating.

Hell, she didn't even remember getting into bed last night.

The shrine maiden stiffened. 'Oh god, that's right!'

"Hey, blockhead..!" Rei growled and pulled off the sheet curtain. "I was waiting until up 1AM for you!" The curtain fell to reveal an unoccupied room and an untouched futon.

"Goten..?" She mumbled when it hit her he never came home after disappearing to go drop off Artemis.

Rei rolled out of bed and dug for her communicator to contact Minako. It was the only thing she'd pick up at this hour. Years of duty had her trained to answer the call no matter what.

"What is it, Rei-chan?" Minako said groggily.

"Did Artemis make it home okay?" Rei asked.

"Mm, yeah," she rubbed her eyes and yawned. "He's right here sleeping with me. Told me Goten dropped him off at the arcade."

"Did he say anything else?"

"Yeah he and Toki scuffled with some Typhoon goons and sent them home running. Apparently your man is one dynamite ass-kicker. Even Artemis said he was impressed." The blonde gave a sleepy grin, hint of slyness to it.

"Did he say where Goten headed after that?"

"Nope, he told me he fell asleep after the warm milk. He snoozed in my bag all the way home." Mina said, glancing at the still sleeping cat. "Why? You worried he's having an affair with some pretty girl that finds him irresistible?"

"First of all, Goten and irresistible don't go in the same sentence. Second, Goten never came home last night. Now I'm in his room and I have no idea where he is." Rei frowned.

"Oh," Minako scratched the back of her messy haired head. "Maybe he went to visit a friend of his, got drunk, and crashed on their couch for the night?"

"Unlikely, I was going to start dinner when he left. He wouldn't have done that. In fact, he'd be home sooner because he was hungry!"

The soldier of love mirrored her concerned frown. "Are you assuming the worst? Or are you getting bad vibes over this?"

"Assuming, yes; and not sure on the vibes. This just isn't like him. He would have at least called if he was going to be late." Rei anxiously tugged at her bangs.

"Relax, Rei-chan. He's a big boy who can handle himself in a fight. I'd hate to say this but give it the police approach and wait a full 24 hours before trying to hunt him down."

"You're right, I'll try." She sighed in defeat.

Minako smiled. "Look at you all worried about your boyfriend in the middle of the night."

"He's not my boyfriend!" The shrine maiden ground her teeth.

"Well he's awfully special if you're calling Sailor V to solve his mysterious disappearance." Minako stuck out her tongue and made the V sign. "Besides you're cutting into my beauty rest. I got to look good while I fight crime too, you know."

"Yeah, yeah…" she rolled her amethyst colored eyes. "I'll keep you posted." The communicator screen went black and she placed it back in her jewelry box.

'You better be safe, blockhead. No one should kick your ass but me.' She silently prayed for his safety.

About 2 hours and 45 minutes after Rei came home from school, she sat at the shrine steps restlessly bouncing her knee. It was 15 minutes away from being 24 hours since Goten left the shrine. Rei had finished his workload for him in a hurry to be ready to go out and hunt him down if she had to. Just what in the hell could have happened to him? Was he ambushed, trapped, hit by a car, spirited away? The possibilities were endless.

'And to think he was hired to look after me! I wonder if Grandpa is starting to see the irony in that.' She huffed. 'I'm going to kill him.'

"He still isn't back yet?" Grandpa asked as Rei accompanied him up the steps when he returned from a date with Nana.

"No," she answered, radiating stress.

There was a pause. "You didn't scare him away did you?"

"No, Grandpa! I did not," she exclaimed, sounding a bit offended over such an accusation.

"You're right. The boy isn't that skittish if he's lasted this long." He countered to try and lighten the mood. His granddaughter still carried a serious look of worry on her face and he patted her hand. "Rei, he'll be all right. You'll see."

"I hope so," she whispered back before he went inside.

Just as Rei turned around she saw a figure in the distance stagger to the top of the steps. Her eyes widened and stepped closer to verify it was the very man with the shaggy mop of hair she knew. Like a wildcat on the hunt she leapt and sprinted toward him. She got in his personal space and let him have the scolding she was holding in all day. "Where in the hell have you been? I have waited up for you, worried sick and—Oh my god, Goten! You reek!" The shrine maiden plugged her nostrils to block out the stench of fish and ocean he was projecting.

Goten took her hand, merely mumbling out, "Here," and placed something in it while looking totally out of it. He looked like he had not rested at all since he left judging by the bags under his eyes. With that he wobbled past her looking like a zombie from a horror film from behind.

Stunned at how he just walked away, she opened her mouth to call after him before she realized he had slipped her a fat wad of cash in her hand, all bills and just as smelly as he was. "What—Where? Goten, where-How did you get all of this money?!" She shouted in awe and a splash of concern for the condition he was in.

"Got another job, fishing…to help you," he yawned.

Disbelievingly blinking up after him, she froze in place as she processed what just happened.

He got a second job, for her. He worked all night, for her. He came out with a wad of money, for her.

"Night," he murmured as he slid the door to his room open.

"No you don't, mister! You're going to take a good shower before you rub your stench on that futon." There was no way she was sleeping in the next room to such a smell. She grabbed the back of his shirt and tugged him toward the bathroom. He limply followed as his stomach began to rumble. Rei felt her own stomach drop at the noise.

He was just about to go to bed without dinner due to exhaustion.

"Here, lean on this wall for a sec." She went into her room and brought back a can of soda. "Drink this, it'll give you an extra energy boost so you can finish your shower and have some dinner. Then you can sleep all you want." She huffed and practically grasped his hand around the can to tighten his hold on it.

Goten brought the can to his lips and gulped it down, suddenly feeling more alert when the sugar hit his taste buds. "Thanks," he exhaled before belching. "Excuse me," his cheeks reddened slightly.

"Just hurry up and shower. Don't worry about your clothes. Leave them in the basket, and I'll wash them when you're done." Rei brought a hand to her forehead and sighed.

He grunted with a nod and stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Rei headed for the kitchen while sifting through the money, sputtering incredulously at the amount. It was enough to pay for the next 3 grocery bills and then some, all of it made in one night! Apparently she had underestimated him. Maybe Goten had a good work ethic after all.

After filling Grandpa in on his arrival, along with an obnoxious 'I told you so' from him, Rei got to heating up dinner in the kitchen. Goten stepped in wearing sweat pants and a tank top while towel drying his hair sleepily. "Have a seat, your plate's ready." She said gently.

He obeyed and sat at the table, resting his towel around his shoulders to catch any rogue drops from his still moist hair. He stared blankly at the table while blinking slowly. Rei was unsettled over him being too tired to even get excited about food.

"Here, it's chicken curry with rice." She said and set the plate in front of him.

She watched the familiar goofy smile spread on his tired face. So the spark for food in him was not all gone. That made her relieved.

"Thanks, Rei." He said gently and picked up his utensils. Just as he was about to scoop up his bite, a soft warm sensation lightly brushed the skin on the side of his face. Goten's fingers froze in place when he realized Rei had just given him a peck on the cheek.

"Thank you," she replied after she swiftly pulled away. "Tell Grandpa or the girls and you're dead." She added firmly while blushing.

"Huh..?" The half saiyan responded, stunned. He was tired enough to wonder if that really just happened or he was dreaming it. The door to the kitchen closed behind him and he ate alone while Rei moved his dirty clothing to the wash.

Once finished with dinner, Rei helped him walk to his bedroom to keep him from tipping over and ripping another rice paper door down the hall. "Last stop," she announced and ushered him in to bed.

He hit the futon with a thud, collapsing on top of it. Rei was left to tuck him in as he snuggled his pillow. "Goodnight, you blockhead…get some rest." She said soothingly and patted his shoulder through the comforter.

"Night, you take good care of me...Rei," He breathed, already tumbling out of consciousness.

She felt the same heat flow across her face as she flushed at the comment. Goten really was grateful to her, wasn't he?

She held in a giggle when he already began to snore. After she left the room, she shook her head. Rei touched her lips and wondered if Goten would remember that kiss when he woke up. 'Probably shouldn't be giving him any ideas. I was just feeling grateful, that's all.' Crouching down to sit at her table she stared at the stack of smelly money while contemplating. 'Besides, no one can just buy my affection.'

And yet here Goten was, working towards earning her respect, the first man to come into her life and do such a thing. He had no obligations whatsoever to go out and get a second job. Yet he did, all to benefit her and her family, not him. This was nothing like the prep school boys with their fancy cars and trust funds offering her lavish gifts in order to win her over. Goten saw she needed help and went out of his way to give it to her without her having to tell him to. That earned him her gratitude. To him, that must have been worth working his tail off.

She scrunched her nose and leaned in to sniff the cash. "Ugh, I'm definitely depositing that in a plastic sandwich bag tomorrow morning."

* * *

Goten awoke the next morning rather early. He checked his watch and blinked, 6:30AM it read. 'Wow, usually I'm still dozing by 7:20AM and Rei has to roll me off my futon.' He smiled while scratching the back of his head. He felt his hair while running his fingers through it all the way down his neck. It was getting long, his mother would be hassling him to cut it if she were there. He sighed, it would be best. His hair constantly got in his eyes, made his neck sweaty, and was a pain when wet. That won't work with his new job.

Last night he met a kind older gentleman, Captain Toshiro Uokawa, in dire need of help. He owned a small fishing boat that had little chance of competing with larger ones to bring back a good catch. The captain explained that if something didn't change, he would have had to sell his boat in order to make ends meet and pay for his sick wife's medical bills. Goten took it upon himself to get a net and dive into the water himself, using his ki to keep him warm. He might have cheated by going super saiyan to light his way through the water and gain more speed. But by the end of the night he witnessed the old man go from shocked to breaking down in tears of joy at the massive haul he brought him.

Captain Uokawa told him he will always be in his debt and swore to keep the phenomenal powers he had witnessed a secret. That made Goten relieved. He loved fishing his way and didn't want to waste time doing it the mundane way for a smaller catch. They agreed to mostly work nights and Goten has free reign on how he gets his catch. He had helped the captain to the market the morning after and was offered a generous cut. Goten could have left with more money for all the heavy lifting yet he only took what he needed and left the rest to the older man with more debts. It looked like this was going to be the start of a sweet partnership.

The teen stretched and got out of bed to wash up for the day. Goten grunted as he realized all the times he had to shift his hair around so it wouldn't bother him. He sighed and changed into some clothes. Just as he was going down the hall, Grandpa walked by while sipping the last of his tea.

"Morning, Grandpa." He greeted his elder.

"Ah, here he is, awoken from his slumber." He laughed. "Good morning, my boy." The short man patted his back affectionately. "Rei and I are very thankful for what you did last night. In fact we're very proud of you."

"Thanks, Gramps." The smile on his face grew wide at that. He was happy to make Grandpa proud, even if Rei was the hardest one to impress. Goten came to think of Grandpa as his own grandfather in many ways. Having the old priest's support made him feel all the more at home in the shrine. "Say, you think you could do me a favor?"

"By all means, ask away. Is it about more love advice? I'm sure I can be of service. My last few dates with Nana are proof I still got it!" He boasted while thrusting his hips back and forth and to the side in a raunchy victory dance.

The younger man blushed and laughed in a mix of awkwardness and hilarity at the old geezer's antics. "Sorry, it's nothing that exciting. I just want to know where I could get my hair cut. It's gotten longer than what I'm used to." He said while tugging at the ends of his locks to show how long they were from the scalp to his elevated hand.

"Ah, I see. Well look no further, my boy. I actually went to barber school in my youth." The priest puffed his chest proudly.

"You were a barber, Gramps?" Goten cocked a brow in amusement.

"Oh, I had quite a full life before I settled in at the shrine. I even tried to join the circus." He boasted with a laugh.

"Okay, you've got to give me all the details." The young man said, now completely invested on hearing the older man's tales.

"I'll tell you all about it in the chair. This mop must be dealt with! No worries, I'll clean you up and the girls will be jumping through flaming hoops to get to you." Grandpa ushered him in his room and had him sit on a vintage barber's chair.

Goten felt a sensation of giddiness wash over him as Grandpa put a barbers cape on him. The old man went to work while telling him the story. When they had reached the end, Grandpa held up a mirror to Goten's face. "Now that is a clean cut, man. I kept it neat but with some personality."

He couldn't believe his eyes as he ogled at his reflection. "Wow, Gramps..! This is so much better than how my mom used to cut it. I actually look good, not nerdy." He ran a hand through his hair. It still looked like how he would wear his hair normally, just shorter. Normally his mother would give him and Gohan bowl cuts and let it be the end of it until they grew out their hair. He could never really rock the look like Trunks did.

"With that confidence, the world is now your oyster." Grandpa Hino grinned approvingly. "Why don't you go show Rei how sharp you look?" He winked.

"All right, I just remembered I have to tell her something important." Goten nodded and got up from the chair, removing his hair-covered cape.

Rei was currently in the kitchen moving things around in the fridge and setting leftovers on the counter. When Goten stepped in she didn't break her focus.

"Good morning, Rei." Goten greeted with his signature smile.

"Morning, how'd you sleep last n-night?" She looked over at him and blinked in total surprise.

Was she really looking at Goten?

"Did you cut your hair?"

"Gramps did it for me." Goten grinned, seeing Rei caught off her guard was a pretty cute sight. "I figured it'd stay out of my eyes this way."

"Oh," she uttered, still staring.

He felt his grin grow wider. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected Rei to look at him so intently with what looked like interest. At least he hoped it was interest anyway. "You're staring," he pointed out the obvious.

"Just the first time I got a good look at your face." She blushed and remembered the only other time she looked at his face this long was when he was soaking wet over her body after just giving her mouth to mouth. The image of him shirtless while dripping wet was shoved out of her mind and she tried to save face with a sassy comment. "Now your head doesn't look like a mop anymore." She said before taking a swig of water.

"Aw shoot, if you told me that sooner I would have made better time cleaning the floors."

Rei choked on her water and covered her mouth, earning a laugh from her roommate. "Blockhead," she coughed lightly and wiped her chin.

"Made you laugh," he snickered playfully. "So what are you up to?" He asked while staring pointedly at the stack of Tupperware on the kitchen counter.

"Getting the fridge organized," she answered and sorted them by size next to an open bento. "I'm going grocery shopping later so I'm making the best of the space we have for new things. Breakfast will be ready as soon as I finish up."

"Um, I'm actually going to pick up something to eat for myself. So don't worry about me. Your bento isn't made yet, you should focus on making yourself lunch and getting to school on time." The sheepish smile graced his lips as his hand went behind his head.

"Oh," she replied, caught off guard once again. "Well it would help if you swept up the place until I finish up."

"Sure, just thought I'd let you know I'll be working at the dock later today. I'll keep you updated until I got a set schedule but today it's mostly cleaning the boat. I hope that's not too much trouble."

"You're the reason we're going to be able to afford more food this month. It's no trouble at all." Rei clarified. "Thank you." She said and gave him a bow.

Flustered at the genuine display of gratitude he bowed back. "No, thank you! You and Gramps put a roof over my head. It's the least I can do to repay you." He suddenly remembered a brief peck on the cheek from the night before and wondered if he dreamt it. The flush on his face spread down his neck at the thought of it.

"Okay enough rambling, go sweep." Rei waved her hand dismissively to shoo him out.

"Yes, ma'am," Goten hurried out and went right to sweeping.

She couldn't help but crack a small smile at how easily she turned the tables on him. However she truly was taken aback by how considerate he was to her just now. He actually requested for her not to cook for him just so she could get to school on time.

If he had just remembered that she didn't usually pack bentos to school, then her surprise would have been ruined.

Goten wiped his brow after sweeping grounds and did a number of last minute tasks for Grandpa to help stock up the charm stand. "Rei, I'm leaving." He called out and rested his broom on the wall outside the building.

Usually he would bid her farewell as she would leave to school but today he was pressed for time.

"Already..?" Rei stuck half of her body out from behind a sliding door to look at him. She was wearing her school uniform with the gray jacket unbuttoned and missing socks.

"Yeah, I'm getting a little hungry." His stomach growled loudly at that. "Okay, maybe more than a little hungry." He nervously chuckled.

"Then don't forget this." Rei said and opened the sliding door completely to reveal a large wrapped bento in her arms. She handed the heavy lunchbox to him with a hint of red on her cheeks.

After blinking in surprise, he furrowed his brow at the container in his arms. "Rei, I can't take your lunch." He frowned, now feeling guilty.

"It's not my lunch. I dine at my school, remember? It's Grandpa's old bento, now it's yours." She crossed her arms in a matter of fact tone.

"You made the bento for me?" Goten stammered in shock. Rei packed him a lunch, with extreme care to boot! By the weight alone he could tell she stuffed it to the brim. It was wrapped so nicely, kind of like a present. "Rei, this is really," he paused. "It's the most," he struggled to express how he felt and just went off the top of his head. "I love it! Thank you so much. It really means a lot to me," he beamed.

Her face turned bright pink as she averted her eyes, keeping her arms crossed. "No need to get all sappy. You have to be well fed so you don't come home and binge on everything in the fridge."

It was then he realized: Rei being so nice and doing such a kind gesture, the kiss wasn't a dream after all! Goten felt a light bulb go over his head. He suddenly knew just how to express his gratitude.

"Now get going so you can make it back in time for dinner." Rei pointed at the direction of the shrine steps.

"Whatever you say," a smirk graced his lips.

Rei paused and looked up at him with narrow eyes, wondering why he wasn't gone already. Then, he made his move. His lips found her cheek in a momentary peck and Rei felt her body jolt in surprise.

He pulled away before she could utter a response. "Thanks again, wifey." With that, he stuck out his tongue at her before sprinting off giggling with glee.

When she found herself out of shock, she tightly balled up her fists. "WE ARE NOT MARRIED!" She shrieked out at him from the distance as he was already half way down the stairs.

* * *

Days went by and Goten was at the shrine one evening on his day off from fishing. Captain Uokawa was staying home with his ill wife after she had finished her treatment. Thanks to Goten, he finally had enough to afford the care she needed. Goten was living it up by being sprawled on the floor with an omnibus manga in his hands, courtesy of Rei.

Rei was hosting another study session with her friends in her room and there was a moment of silence. The only thing he could hear was the sound of pencils scribbling on paper.

Out of nowhere a beeping noise went off. "And time," Ami called out, signaling for the girls to put their pencils down.

"No," Usagi whined. "I barely finished number 24."

"I almost had 32." Minako's eye twitched in annoyance.

Ami loomed over their shoulders wearing her large reading glasses and eyed their work. "Unfortunately, you both got them wrong. You didn't utilize the proper formulas."

"Perfect," the two blondes groaned and flopped backwards hopelessly.

Goten then slid the door open with a grin. "Man, I can't believe how good The Great Saiyaman bonus chapters are. What do you have next, Rei?" He strolled in and handed her back the omnibus.

"You sure read that quickly, only took you a couple of hours to finish." Rei said as she flipped through all 576 pages, marveling how he finished such a thick book.

"It is mostly pictures," he smiled modestly, "besides it wasn't a couple of hours. I got a head start on it the night Gramps gave me my haircut, remember?" He tipped her a wink.

Rei flinched remembering chucking the book at him when he returned home, when he had the nerve to blow a kiss in her direction. He caught it and took it into his room to read it for himself.

"Speaking of," Minako sprung up between the dark-haired teens. "Goten, have I told you that you look handsome with that new haircut?"

"Only 15 times this week," he chuckled sheepishly.

"Well it is true," Usagi added.

"I don't think I've ever had girls call me handsome this much," his hand went behind his head. "Well, except for my mom." He added when his cheeks colored.

"Aw," The girls cooed in harmony.

"I'm sure your mom would be proud to hear about how hard you're working." Rei spoke up with a small smile at how flustered he was. Before he could barely keep one job and now he was working two.

"Yeah," Goten's smile fell for a second. It had been a while since he thought about his mom, what she would think of his progress. The fact that Rei brought her up after their talk at the Chinese restaurant had him feeling a pang of guilt.

"So by any chance would you consider a job in tutoring?" Minako asked, leaning in close to his face.

"What me?" Goten took a step back and blinked.

"And how do you intend to pay Goten for tutoring you, Minako-chan?" Ami's eye twitched in annoyance. Of course Minako and Usagi were high maintenance pupils but it was awfully inconsiderate of Minako to enlist Goten's help when the one with the IQ of 300 was already taking time out of her day to help them. Plus she knew for a fact Minako blew her allowance on video games and a new pair of boots.

"With my body of course," Minako answered with a seductive wink, slipping the collar of her shirt down her shoulder to reveal her bra strap.

Goten's eyes widened before he turned his gaze away. "Please don't! I can't buy things to eat with that."

Makoto and Usagi fell over laughing at his response while Ami shook her head with a relieved smile. Rei had her head down, her bangs covering her eyes, visibly trembling.

"Come on, I'm sure someone like you would have a lot to teach me. You were homeschooled, right? Everyone knows homeschooled kids are smart." Minako put her hands together in a pleading gesture.

Goten felt a bead of sweat roll down his forehead. He could teach her a number of things he learned from living in the woods and training with his family and friends. However none of that had a place in academics.

At that moment Rei lost it. Her laughter could barely be contained with her hand in her mouth. Once she let out a giggle louder than a snicker, she couldn't stop until tears were streaming down her face.

Goten and the other girls just stopped and stared until the priestess could catch her breath and compose herself.

"Minako, Goten is an exception to that statistic. He still needs me to pin a list to his shirt to go to the store. His attention span is similar to that of a goldfish. He's tried to open a can like a jar and has bumped into glass screen doors face first. Its safe to say he's not a genius." Rei said as she wiped away the tears.

"Yeah he's probably not much better of than the rest of us." Makoto gave a sympathetic smile and playfully punched his arm.

"Sorry to disappoint you, ladies." He chuckled while picking up one of their textbooks. "I needed a lot of help when I was studying for my own exams." He remembered all of the tutors he went through when Gohan or Trunks were too busy to sit down with him. He wasn't a bad student. He just needed a lot of patience and repetition.

"Do you have any plans for college?" Ami inquired, looking over the lenses of her glasses.

Goten gave a helpless smile. "I haven't given much thought since I've always been bouncing from place to place trying to find steady work. I mean, I need a lot of time to think over which one I'd want to go to and then use my time out of work to study for entrance exams."

"Do you know what you wanna study?" Usagi asked while snacking on a pork bun.

"Um, I can't remember the name." Goten scratched his head while blushing.

The girls all fell over, Rei was right. He really didn't have the best memory.

"Goten, what's your dream? What do you want to be?" Rei asked, wanting to help fill the blanks.

Goten thought back to the night he saved Motoki and how there were no police officers nearby to do anything to help. If he didn't show up at the right moment Motoki and Unazuki would have been seriously hurt. He remembered how his older brother donned a cape and helmet to save the city as a teenager and how his father would always train to keep the planet safe. Being a hero was what he knew best, it was in his blood and he loved doing it.

"I want to be a police officer. I've always liked helping people and protecting them. I know it sounds pretty cliché," he said and cast his eyes down.

"That sounds perfect!" Usagi bounced in place. "You'll look dashing in a uniform," she said while taking another bite of her snack.

"Well, I for one hate cops. But if they had more guys like you, I'd hate them a lot less." Minako pouted but then gave a playful wink to show her support. Goten and the cops she hated only had one thing in common, they both ogled at Rei.

"Then you have got to get started on studying today." Rei stressed.

Goten looked up at that and blinked. "Yeah, I heard on the news that there's a high demand of new recruits because of all the gang activity going around." Makoto stated.

"Sailor V is also doing her part in cleaning up the force by busting dirty cops." Usagi grinned knowingly.

"The woman is a saint if you ask me," Minako flipped her hair.

"I know, right? She's amazing," Goten agreed.

Rei rolled her eyes and got back on topic. "Point is, there's open positions and the time to act is now. You should join our study group. That way you have help with applications and can make it on time for early admission."

"I think that's a brilliant idea." Ami smiled, looking more like her usual sweet self in her reading glasses instead of a strict librarian.

"Yeah, Mako makes the best studying snacks!" Usagi boasted.

"And we will have manga breaks." Minako grinned from ear to ear.

Ami, Makoto, and Rei all sighed and shook their heads. Of course the blondes were only focusing on having a new playmate instead of the task at hand. This was going to be a lot of work.

"Wow, really? You'd do that all to help me?" Goten was genuinely touched. He never actually had a girl that wanted to study with him. The fact that there were five that wanted to include him in their group made him feel warm inside.

"We're not going to just let you put it off. If you have a dream you have to dive in head first. Give it everything you got, because we wouldn't be in this if we didn't believe in you." Rei declared.

"She's right." Usagi and Minako grinned slyly at one another. Both were amused at how passionate Rei got. The girls seemed delighted to now have Goten involved in their academic loop. Bonus was seeing how close and nearly inseparable Rei and Goten were becoming.

After Ami drilled him on a basic test format they discovered that while Goten needed only a bit of help in most areas; the hardest part he struggled with was reading comprehension. Ami explained that if he didn't work on that, the whole test result would be at risk. Rei suggested taking a half hour of their day every day to sit down to help him read passages and quiz him. The girls were definitely going to make her keep that promise considering the looks Goten would give her throughout the session.

Rei's friends were gone after dinner. The sun was setting and Rei finished up with her bath after cleaning the kitchen with Goten. She found him by the porch of the house playing fetch with Phobos and Deimos, using the toy arrow she showed him. Ever since she taught him that they could do that it became his new favorite activity.

"Hey, I'm done with my bath. You can go ahead." Rei said as she dried her hair with a towel.

"Thanks, I'll be in there in a bit. Phobos has some trick catches but Deimos makes up with speed." Goten commented as he watched both crows go at it.

"You have definitely won them over. I don't think they even like me anymore with you in the picture." Rei said, half serious, and then shook her head.

"Nah, you're definitely still their mama." Goten chuckled. "Besides, when I tease Deimos she tugs my hair with her beak." He pointed at the side of his head where his hair looked messiest. "But she's still cool. I never really got to have pets growing up. They were never allowed in the house."

"Goten, can I ask you a personal question?"

Goten didn't miss a beat. "10 inches."

"No, that really wasn't what I meant to-Wait, 10 inches?" Rei's eyes went wide in disbelief.

"Yeah that is the longest my hair has grown out. They even marked my height wrong in high school because of that." His hand went over his head to give an example of how long it would be.

"Oh," Rei replied, inwardly sighing with relief that the conversation didn't go in that other direction. "Look, what I meant to ask was: Why haven't you called your family?"

Goten froze upon hearing that. It was bound to happen sometime, he knew this conversation was going to happen.

"I mean, you talk about them quite a lot. Don't you miss them?" Rei asked gently.

"Of course I do," Goten smiled sadly. "I just," he paused and inhaled. "I'm not ready to talk to my mom yet."

Rei could feel Goten getting uncomfortable with the subject and made the decision to not push the subject further. She knew from experience that not everyone was on good terms with their parents.

"That's okay," she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just know I'm here if you need someone to listen."

He looked at her with gratitude and gave a nod. "Thanks."

* * *

Some time had passed and Goten definitely needed to give his best buddy in the whole wide world an update on his life. While texting was nice, he still liked the convenience of speaking face to face.

"So how are things with this Rei chick?" Trunks asked as the both of them were getting ready to sit down and eat Chinese take out.

"Pretty good," he answered with a shy smile and a slight flush on his cheeks.

"Pretty good, huh?" Trunks narrowed his eyes at him with a playful suspicion. "Like holding hands pretty good or bed rocking kind of good?"

Goten got up and took out his wallet and fished something out. "See for yourself."

Trunks took the photo booth picture strips and his eyes went wide, doing a double take to make sure he had his reading glasses on. "What, no, Goten! You sly dog! Wow, I just-Wow!"

Goten grinned in response, feeling quite proud to find a girl that made Trunks stop in his tracks.

"You totally do not deserve that. I mean, oh my Beerus! She is like a 15 out of 10." Trunks said as he looked at the girl in the photo and back at his best friend.

Goten continued to smile smugly. "Yep, totally not on this earthly plane with us mere mortals."

"So what is she blind? Is that what you came here to tell me?" Trunks inquired, half joking.

"No, she has perfect 20/20 vision." Goten pouted. "She's a skilled archer, really good."

"Of course she is," Trunks smirked. "Any other discoveries you've made?"

"Dude, get this, she was totally a big fan of Saiyaman as a kid. She has the whole published manga series in her collection." Goten all but squealed.

"Get out," Trunks's smirk fell.

"I'm serious, dude!"

"Well, nobody's perfect. That's pretty sweet though. I thought you were his only fan." The heir to the billion dollar company shrugged.

"But she is perfect! She's smart, sometimes she's funny, strong, thoughtful, and just overall full of surprises. You know?" He sighed like just the thought of her was taking his breath away.

Trunks's was propped on the heel of his hand just intently staring at the lovesick expression on his best friend's face. "Sounds like you've got it real bad."

Goten looked at him and felt totally helpless. He was right, his heart was falling, fast and hard. "Help me," was all he could say. This never happened to him, not with any other girl.

"Well, how are you guys? Are you dating?" Trunks asked as he dug into his noodles.

"Not really," Goten frowned. "We're studying together for entrance exams."

"I'm confused by this though," Trunks held up the photos. "Looks an awful lot like a date."

Goten could just hear Rei screaming at him in his mind about how that was not a date. "We decided it wasn't."

"Uh huh," Trunks put down the photos. "So what else? You two still work together?"

"Not as much, got a second job fishing. It pays well. I'm actually getting enough to put into savings." Goten explained as he finally began to eat his food.

"Wait, you said something about entrance exams. You finally made up your mind about college?" His friend blinked in surprise. Last time he checked, Goten was still unsure of what he wanted to do with his life other than live in the city.

"Yeah, I'm going to see if I can enlist in the local police academy college program there." Goten smiled with his mouth full of food.

"That's awesome, man! You're making money and you finally got a plan for a career. That's good. Because a girl like this," he showed him the photo to prove his point. "A girl like this is for winners."

Goten nodded, he already realized how much Rei respected him when he got a second job. She was ambitious and had set goals for even the small things. He had to make sure he completed his own to keep that respect.

"You need to get back in shape too. I can tell you've gone soft on working out. If you don't do something now, your flab is going to turn into fat." Trunks slurped up his noodles nonchalantly.

Goten's chicken fell off of his chopsticks. "F-Fat..?" His face held a worrisome expression.

"Yeah, you have got to maintain your body like the literal temple. Just hit the training and workout harder for the next few weeks. Maybe add less starch to your diet." Trunks suggested.

Goten nodded, pale at the idea that he was getting out of shape. Plus it didn't help that Trunks already pointed out that Rei was too beautiful next to him. "What if I'm not good enough for her?"

"Don't you start filling your head with that before you try. If you have come this far in such a short time then you should not be calling it quits. Besides she's the only girl that's ever offered to help you study. Safe to say she already likes you a lot." Trunks ruffled his buddy's hair as he got up to get more food from the counter. "Just work on yourself, be the best you can be to give her reason to keep liking you."

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, man." Those last words about being himself sounded a lot like the pep talks Gohan would give him through high school. He checked the time and realized it was about the time of day Gohan would be leaving the university he taught at and fly his way home.

"I'll be back," Goten excused himself and closed the balcony door behind him as he called his brother.

"Hey, Gohan." He smiled, feeling so happy hearing his voice again. "Yeah, I'm all right. I just wanted to catch up. I miss you too." Goten laughed and relaxed as he heard his brother say something that put him in a better mood. "Well, I'm living at a shrine now. Yeah, its pretty old and historic. I made a lot of friends too. They're real close with Rei. Oh, Rei? She's my," he paused. If he said too much no doubt his brother might share with his mother. And if his old-fashioned mother found out Goten liked Rei and lived together with her Chi-Chi would probably be in hysterics over her baby boy 'shacking up'. So he decided, for one time only, he would bend the truth. "Rei's my landlady."

**Hope this chapter was worth the wait!**


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